Christmas

Well, it's been a few months (again)! Currently we are in Rockford for Christmas. I just posted some pictures to my picasa account, so check those out!

Last week of school

Ok, so it's been a couple months since I updated my blog! I've finished my rotations, and now I'm taking some refresher classes this last week before graduation to help me prepare for the NAPLEX exam. I can't believe these last four years have gone so fast! Anyway, the graduation is set for this Friday at 3pm, and my commissioning ceremony will be afterwards. It looks like there will be almost 100 people coming...guess they want some free food ;-)
After graduation, I have about a week before I head up to Newport, Rhode Island for Officer Training. I'm not looking forward to getting up at O'dark-thirty, but it should be a good experience. Well, I guess I should head to class...thank you for all the support!

Finally..an update!

Sorry it has been so long!  I just realized it's been over a month since I posted anything.  School has kept me pretty busy; only two months left at WakeMed Raleigh hospital, and I'll be done!  I got an email from the Navy telling me I'm for sure going to Jacksonville, FL.  I will probably go to ODS (officer training school) starting the 17th of May, which lasts 5 weeks.  Hopefully I will be able to take my pharmacy board exam before I go so I don't forget too much! These pictures are just a couple from Will's birthday party.

William's arsenal

William got one of those presents that even his dad can enjoy for his birthday this year...a NERF Vulcan automatic...obviously a weapon-of-mass-destruction!  Anyway, just wanted to post a video of the shear firepower of this gun ;)  Also, if you missed the email, I sent out some recent pictures via my Picasa Web album.  You can view them by clicking here

Family Pics

I've been helping the church out by updating the directory with new member photos. A friend of mine had the background and lighting, and I shot the pictures. We probably took pictures of 50 different families over 3 weeks. Anyway, got a couple pictures of the kids messing around, and then one shot of us for the directory...

Sports

Just an update...started my new rotation last week; mostly draw blood, talk about patients meds and try and figure out the best way to treat them (an oversimplification, but you'll get the point). It's actually fun talking to people about their health conditions, and the preceptor at this site is good about teaching us new things, and not making us feel like idiots if we don't know the answer to his questions. We see about 8-10 patients a day, so we stay busy talking to the patients and preparing for the next appointment.

Lexi and Will have been busy with school and sports. William plays on a local Upwards (christian) league, and Lexi plays on the High School team. Her school doesn't have a JV team, and she actually gets to play a lot. She is probably the youngest girl on the team, but she is learning the plays fast and listens to her coach. William has practices once a week and has games on Saturdays. Lexi stays busy with practice every day except Wednesdays, and homework most nights until after 6 or 7pm (I don't think I ever did homework in junior high, especially not hours at a time!).
Becki has been working full time since the New Year, and probably will until we move. She is usually only allowed so many hours per month, but since she won't be working the entire year, she can pull some extra duty. Works out for everyone because she is needed to train new people, and she likes the hours!
Anyway, not much else going on; until next time!
-PJ

Happy New Year!

Well, another year has flown by! I can't believe Lexi is 12 and William will turn 10 this month! At least I can say that I graduate from pharmacy school this year (May 8th...don't forget!).

Anyway, as promised I am posting some pics of my new uniforms (at least the ones I like). Not really official until I graduate, plus I'm missing some ribbons (Sam, keep you comments), but you'll get the idea...

I actually feel a litle out of place wearing these...kinda strange to think that I was beat into submission at boot camp to respect and fear the officer rank, and then turn around and be that person in the "LT" uniform. Guess that's why us enlisted guys like the prior enlisted officers, because they've "been there".

Anyway, hope everyone had a good time over the holidays, and hope to hear from you all soon!

Just another day off work...

Not much going on today, except that I got my uniforms in the mail (yes!).  Everything fits as it should...I guess those tailors know what they're doing!  I was going to take the uniforms home and have them tailored here, but I'm glad I let the ladies at the uniform shop do it...

Lexi left to go to a youth rally/activity for the next couple days...I'm sure she'll have fun hanging out with her friends at the motel; she'll be gone until Thurdsay.

Anyway, I'll post some more pictures of the new threads when I get a chance...

Long road home

Well, we made it back to NC and 72 degree weather! It rained the whole trip back, which slowed us down a little bit, but at least we're all in one piece (it was also very windy)! We left Rockford about 7pm, and arrived here about noon today. Thankfully we were stocked with a few energy drinks (NOS and Rockstar), which keep you awake because they taste so nasty! Anyway, I also wanted to share a few more pics from the Bashaw side. We (Me, Lexi, Will, Jeremy, Steve and his son Parker) went sledding at the park. It's a good thing we went in the morning, because it started to warm up, causing quite a wet mess later that afternoon. Anyway, if you want to view the pictures, click here...

Family pictures from Rockford

I uploaded some pictures to Picasa...to view them, click here or paste the following address into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/martinfamilypharm/DayAfterChristmas?authkey=PpXEnN2PTso&feat=directlink
They are pictures from Granny's house and the Martin get-together...

Merry Christmas!

As you know, we are in Rockford for Christmas, and were greeted by a wintery blast from the north. Well, it warmed up a little yesterday, and laid down about 6" of sticky snow. Lexi and William took advantage of it, and built a couple snowmen! I think the one by the fence is Lexi's, and the snowman that's slightly leaning to the left is Will's.
The last shot is of Me, Lexi and sleeping Will on Christmas morning. William woke up long enough to investigate his stocking, then drifted back into unconsciousness! Yes Cat, those are the famous shorts that Becki hates, but they are my favorite!
Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! Hope everyone has a good day eating pie and roast beast, turkey or pig!

Extreme Weather

Yes, it's still stinkin' cold outside! The kids wanted to go play in the snow; they lasted 10 minutes! I think Lexi's pictures explains how cold she was! William was bundled up pretty tight...kind of reminded me of "A Christmas Story". Unfortunately the heat went out at the Bashaw house last night, and the HVAC guy couldn't come until the next day (today)...sooo Becki and I ran to Wal-Mart and picked up some space heaters to keep us all warm until the heat could be fixed! Oh, and did I mention this was at 1:30 in the morning? At least the heat was fixed today, and I'll probably return all those heaters...I love Wal-Mart!

Uniforms

Well, we ended up leaving NC about 7pm on Friday, drove all night and ended up in Chicago about 830am. After waiting for a base pass, we got to the uniform shop right when they opened. I thought it would take 30 minutes tops to get what I needed and leave for Rockford, but it ended up taking almost 2 hours to find everything I needed. Trying to find pants ended up being quite demanding...I didn't know pants came in so many choices! Short, long, regular, atheltic or classic fit, and three different manufacturers made narrowing down my choices very irritating, especially when I hadn't slept. Anyway, got everything I needed, and after they are done tailoring everything it will all be shipped FEDEX to my house.
We got to Rockford about 130pm and were greeted with a few inches of snow and bitter cold! Quite the contrast from NC (68 degrees when we left). Actually I couldn't start the car Sunday morning...I think one of the dome lights was left on, and the little motor just wouldn't turn over. I think that the temperature of 5 below (I'm sure the wind chill was 20 below) also had something to do with it!
Anyway, I donned my new cover for the fans and Becki snapped this pic. No, the red shirt is not part of the uniform nor is the scruffy face, but I'm still proud to show off my new threads! Just 4 more months and I'll be official!

Present from Germany

David and Kristen sent me this shirt from Germany (soccer shirt)...I am very proud of it as you can see! We opened some of our presents early because we are leaving for Rockford tonight. Should be an "exciting" drive with all the snow that's been piling up in Illinois the past couple days...I'm sure with all the people and luggage crammed into my little Mazda5 we'll have plenty of weight on the wheels; just hope I can do more than 55mph or it's gonna be a long trip! Oh, and did I mention how much I "love" having a cartop carrier on my car?

We are also stopping at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center on the way so I can pick up my new officer uniforms (about time!). I'll try to get some pics of that and post them the next time I have an internet connection!

Game day

Here is a shot of Lexi during one of her recent games. I must have looked like the "over-involved" parent; I was sitting under the basket taking pictures! My excuse is that I share the pics with all the parents, so I don't get too many weird looks...

New picture browser...

I added a Picasa picture browser to view different photos I have online. If you want to view a slideshow, click on one of the pictures and then click on "slideshow" in the upper left corner...

Chris Sperling's photos

If you haven't seen Chris's work lately, check out his site here or paste this address to your browser: http://www.sssphotography.ifp3.com/

Slideshow

I added a slideshow that has a few folders in it that have several photos in each folder.

Lexi's Team Pictures

Here are a couple pics from Lexi's volleyball and basketball teams as promised. You can click on them for a full screen view...

Rainy Day

Not much going on today...been very warm but rainy! Lexi got some team pics back from school; I'll post those soon...