Picture of the Happy Couple

OK all! If this doesn't get Melissa to start blogging, nothing will. Uploading a picture of the happy couple without consulting the wife is a dangerous adventure. Please note the disclosure: We didn't plan on getting this picture done but rather attended an Adult Night out for a Church function. They brought a photographer who was taking free pictures (I rarely ever pass up FREE). I had coerced my wife into getting the picture. I hadn't shaved, althought Melissa does look very pretty as she always does.

Melissa keeps talking about making entries into the blog. Hopefully this will light her fire. All is well with the Newcombe's. The kids are enjoying spring, missing the snow believe it or not. We miss many people as well that we got to know in Vegas. Melissa is picking up her business again which is a good thing. She really is an example to me. She even introduced herself to all the neighbors (neighboUrs for our Canadian friends) and invited them over for an open house. She is a good business woman. Go Melissa!

We have had a great visit by Melissa's mom who lives in Henderson NV as well as my brother Andrew and his family who live in Chatham Ontario Canada (about 350 miles away). We did make a wirlwind trip to visit him and the rest of my family at the beginning of February at the unexpected passing of my paternal Grandmother. She did have a long life for which I am grateful for.

Anyhow Melissa - Post away. I got to get to work. Thanks to all for being our friends and family. Keep pestering Melissa to post. I believe we may get her to do so before long.

Wes

Yes, this is silly. Posting a small blog some six months after doing so on a visit back "east" to visit family. Little did we know that times would change and we would find oureselves living in Illinois. Under the current economic conditions, I (Wes) lost my job at Mandalay Bay as the Finance Operations Manager. Although I knew that it was coming, careers that were willing to pay anything close to what I was making had dried up. No one was hiring. A close friend of mine was looking to hire someone with Accounting/Finance background to come join a Business Intelligence team that we was putting together at his company IN CHICAGO. Well, two weeks later after being layed off my job, I found myself working in Naperville, Illinois (suburb of Chicago). Our family relocated at the end of December.

I will update more in the near future. I do make a call out to my wife to post something as well. Until then, we hope all is well with everyone.

Wes

Greetings from Illinois!

Our saga continues! We're visiting family in Chicago right now. We've had some good weather (cooler that is). We've seen some rain which is nice as we don't get to see very much in Vegas.

Melissa is flying into O'Hare airport this afternoon. She has been attending a Tastefully Simple Convention in Minneapolis since Thursday. I drove her to the Detroit airport on the 14th where she flew to MSP via ORD. She has had a great time from what I have been able to get from her on the phone. She talks briefly when we are on the phone. I am looking forward to her coming back. It has given me a new profound appreciation for what she does to take care of the kids.

I had to drive all 4 kids the 6 hour drive (does not include stops for gas/potty/DVD change). I thought that crossing the border would have been harder without my wife present. The agent didn't even ask for the notarized letter that we drafted up giving permission for me to take the kids across the border without both parents present.

I'll try to upload some pictures of the car ride across the river on the ferry! Normally we don't take the ferry across but the border crossing by bridge and tunnel were really backed up. See ya! Enjoy your Sunday!

Greetings from Canada!

Well, for those who didn't know, our family is on vacation from August 9th-24th. We flew into Detroit on the 9th. The flight itself was smooth sailing but Kyla had a rough time getting to sleep. We took a red eye flight so our system was out of wack on Saturday. It is cool and rainy. In fact I got up this morning and it was 49 degrees outside. Yesterday it must have only got up to 70. So, no swimming for our kids when it is that cool.

I am at the hospital today having taken my dad in for an angioplasty (spelling?) Just waiting around. I thought I would bring Melissa's laptop in the chance that I would be able to gain access to the Internet. Melissa is having an internet withdrawl at my parents house as they do not have access. So for those of you who are not getting a quick response from Melisa, give her a little slack. She is trying to logon whenever possible.

Melissa flies out to Minneapolis MN on Thursday for a Tastefully Simple Conference. She doesn't want to leave the family but she is also looking forward to learning new things and being pumped up in order to go home and rock her business.

We have some pictures. When we have time, we will upload some pictures from our camera and post them here. Stay tuned. For those in Vegas - stay cool! We'll try to send some cooler weather your way.

Melissa did a wonderful job!

I thought I would jump in quickly to say "Way to go Melissa" for figuring out how to post video's and pictures. I have to give it a try. I guess I should take some pictures first.

We're trying to pack up and get ready for the trip. We leave Friday night at midnight. I sure am not looking forward to doing a red eye flight with the kids but it was the cheapest way to go. Having to purchase 5 tickets (next time will be 6 tickets) for the family, any savings is appreciated.

I helped pack the electronics last night (i.e. travel DVD, GPS). We keep setting up the suitcases on our bed as a reminder to pack clothes as they are ready. The last thing we want to do is pack up the day or night of especially since it is Jenna's birthday.

Melissa had a Tasetfully Simple party tonight (she is a consultant). She came home excited but tired. She is asleep right now (at 10 pm) on the couch. She is doing great with her business. I am so proud of her.

Another day down, more ahead.

Jump...jump...jump

I hope I'm doing this blogging thing right so far. I'm loving it, but feel completely clueless. So why not add to it by trying a video. So here goes.

Last night, Jenna taught Kyla the word "JUMP" and the action that goes with it. And Kyla was running around the living room saying "Jump...jump...jump" and trying so hard to get off the ground. It was so adorable and we got some video to go with it.

She's been saying all kinds of new words lately. Some of her newest words include: AWESOME! and Choo Choo, All Aboard. She seriously says all four of those words together. Anyway, these are all words she's learned from her big 4-year-old brother.

My First Tag...

This is a picture tag from one of my dear friends Kendra!! The rules are...you have to take 10 pictures of the following things, right away, without straightening or cleaning anything up. I tried to keep mine in the same order as my buddies Kendra and Ragan (because they know more than I do about how to post on here)...so here I go...

1. The closet...not terribly messy, but we do have too many clothes. We definitely need to declutter our wardrobe. And you probably noticed the suitcases ready to be packed. I didn't finish the packing on Saturday, but the laundry is almost done...hopefully making packing that much easier.

2. The toilet...there were no rules about whether it should be opened. It's actually not that bad, but I'm so not putting it on display to be judged. :c) This is our Master Bath. I love having a bathroom in my bedroom. I know most everyone does...but I really appreciate it.
3. What your kids are doing right now? Well, the first moment I got to work on this picture tag was after the kids were in bed. However, as you can see not everyone was asleep. SO that was a surprise to me.

• Kyla - laying in her crib trying to go to sleep despite the camera being flashed in her eyes!

• Weston - I had to crop this one, so as not to show the spiderman underoos! He's such a cutie! Also, can I just say I love the fact that 3 of my 4 kids are potty-trained! It might not sound like a big deal, but at one point I did have 3 in diapers.
  

• Jenna - she sleeps on the top bunk. So this is the best shot I could get of her. I especially loved the hand hanging over the edge. She's such a sweetheart! And CANNOT wait for her birthday!

• Megan - she absolutely cracked me up sleeping with her arms straight above her head.
  
  

4. Self portrait - fairly accurate seeing as we're both the contributors on this blog. I held the camera and Wes snapped the picture.
5. The fridge... I guess I shouldn't have taken it when it was dark in the kitchen. But it's really not that bad. However, we're trying to empty it before our vacation.
6. The kitchen sink - thank goodness Wes had gotten the dishes loaded in the dishwasher before I got my camera out. I know...I'm one lucky lady to have a guy who doesn't mind helping with dishes.
7. The laundry room. I really like my laundry room. It took me a few months to realize I could use the shelf to hang clothes up as they come out of the dryer. I'm a little on the ditzy side. :) And I really like my side-load washer because my kids can help out with the laundry. However, I have to share a quick story about my kids at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Grandpa Paul was doing laundry and the kids wanted to watch. Grandpa later said "You'd have thought they had never seen anyone do laundry before". We realized that was because they can't ever remember having a top-load washer in our home. My mom was not laughing at the prospect of having an "old-fashioned" washer.
8. My favorite room in the house. This is probably because it's summer. But I LOVE my bedroom, because it is my sanctuary. And at the end of the day, it is the coolest room in the house and I'm thrilled to climb into my cool, crisp bed. And I like that when I'm disciplined enough to work out I can do it in the comfort of my own bedroom (the machine in the front of the room is a gazelle). However, I still need to decorate all the rooms in my home.
9. My favorite pair of shoes...I have loved these shoes since my mom bought them. And had always wished I had gotten the same pair as her when she bought them. However, I went with a diff pair. Well, I got lucky and she handed them down to me and she had only worn them a couple times. And the pedicure is from Jenna. She's been begging to give me a pedi for the past few weeks. I finally gave into her the other night. 10. A picture of my dream vacation. This is a picture in Hawaii of the Kaanapali Beach on Maui. I'm kind of boring. I've been there before, but I'd love to go again. Go snokeling again and this time wear sunscreen. Also, take the Road to Hana and enjoy the Seven Pools. We didn't do that on our honeymoon. Also, (and I totally copied this from Kendra) I would just sit on the beach or swim in a perfectly aqua blue ocean and relax all day.
Okay so I will tag Melissa S., Nancy A., Michelle C., Becky B., and Teri M. As usual, I will not be offended if you don't have the time! Also, anyone else who is interested is welcome to tag themselves with this one! Have a fabulous day!!