November Pre-Thanksgiving

Well, even though we took very few photos, it's been an active month so far. I'll mention a few of the events. It's always difficult to try to reconstruct the schedule after the fact (given minimal effort to do so). Therefore, here are some of the items I recall:
* On the 5th I took a half day of PTO (vacation day) to attend a USUCCU (chartered credit union) extended board meeting - lunch, a few hours of training and strategic planning, and then a dinner with wives at the downtown Iron Gate Grill. I serve as a volunteer member of the board of directors of the credit union.
* The following week I launched a new product - a 2000 liter single-use bioreactor. This entailed two webinar sessions (training over the internet and phone) to our field personnel, and on that Friday a launch party I hosted at the company, complete with a presentation and a drawing for some prizes.
* Gayle and I got to tend Avril for two days while Alicia took Jesse on a trip for his birthday. I always enjoy time with the granddaughter! I took one of those days as PTO and spent the whole day with her.
* Last week we had another very well attended ward Temple Night. We've emphasized temple attendance and doing it as a ward lately, and the spirit there has been great. The next night we had the Young Women in Excellence program and afterward we (the bishopric) took the wives along to go visit Patriarch Lowell Jenkins at Sunshine Terrace where he's recuperating from a series of strokes.
* I took another PTO (as you can tell, I have too many left at year-end and the policy is use them or lose them - and last year I lost some) on Friday the 20th. That evening Gayle and I had Ralph and Marian Stephenson and Robert and Janice Lamb (two neighbor couples) over for dinner. We had fun just talking about nearly everything.
* Yesterday was a big day at Church. We changed bishoprics. The former bishopric (including yours truly) and wives met with the stake presidency before sacrament meeting for a testimony meeting. Then in sacrament meeting the ward sustained Casey Isom (plastic surgeon) as bishop, with Eric Eliason as 1st counselor and Ben Haynie as 2nd counselor. It is a great bishopric and we look forward to serving with them. Craig Mortensen and I dropped by Cris Lewis's house after church to give him a priesthood blessing (he has had some health issues of late). Later that same afternoon Eric came by and already called me to a calling (can't divulge it until I'm sustained).
--- So here are some photos:


Avril learned what a belt is and wanted to try mine on. Then she had to test out my sneakers too.

Here are Robert and Janice Lamb (left) and Ralph and Marian Stephenson (right). We had Gayle's great chicken crescent rolls (with gravy) and her squash casserole. I made my specialty - cabbage salad. The ladies wanted the recipes so I took those by today (Monday) in a heavy snowstorm.

Here's a shot sent by Leisa Firth of the new bishopric - Ben Haynie, Casey Isom, and Eric Eliason

And here's a photo from August of 2008 - on the day Bart and I were set apart as bishop Firth's second set of counselors.

In order - me, bishop Firth, and Bart Griffiths.