Ahhh, summer time.

Ok, so its been a month since I posted anything, sorry. We have of course been busy and have several new updates to share. First, we moved into the "lake house" in Arlington Heights with the Dunn family. The move went relatively smoothly, nothing a little spackle can't fix. We are getting close to having everything put away, but not quite there yet. But the house is great, we've all enjoyed the backyard and the proximity to the park. After every meal, Bryce heads to the back door and wants to play outside. And of course he loves playing with all of Eliot's toys, he is lucky Eliot is good at sharing. Pictures of the house will come once it is "done" and Shaun finishes painting Bryce's room. Spoiler alert: its a Winnie the Pooh 5 hundred acre woods theme and super cute.

Last week Shaun also took the bar exam. YAY!! He is finally done studying. It was a lot of work and a lot of memorization, but he feels confident he did the best he could. Results are posted in October. Until then, he gets to relax, play with Bryce and take care of the house. Oh and try to find a job, that would be nice too.

As far as Shaun's health, he is committed to doing the P90X program (in 90 days this time) and eating better. The bar exam took a tole on our eating habits, but he is back to eating good food, working out and overall living a very healthy lifestyle. We don't know what the future holds with his cancer or what further treatments he might need (if any!), but we are willing to do what ever is necessary to get him healthy.

This weekend a high school friend will be taking some family photos for us. The last photo shoot with her was a great success, but we didn't get any pictures of just Shaun and me. This time around, I wanted to of course get pictures of the whole family, but focus on Shaun and my love for each other. We celebrated our 7th anniversary this year and can only hope for 50 more.

Better Thal family picture

something was missing in the last one, this one is much better.

Nurre Family Reunion

Bryce and I had a great time visiting with my mom's side of the family this past weekend. Since she has 8 brothers and 2 sisters, it gets to be a pretty big group. In total, I think 52 family members were present. It was held at a cabin in Tennessee near Gatlinburg so there was lots to do including a white water rafting trip. Amy notoriously falls out of rafts and true to form, her streak continues. The weather was perfect though and the cool water felt great. While at the cabin, Bryce got to meet and play with his second cousins (Amy will correct me on this saying they are actually cousins once removed, whatever that means). It was a great chance to catch up with family which is always nice. Unfortunately, Bryce was teething a little bit which tends to make him a little clingy. He was awarded the "I Love my Mommy" award by Uncle Bob and Aunt Ellie. Shaun missed out so he could have some alone time to study for the bar. As my Uncle Ken says, why does he need to study to get into a bar, he just needs to come here, we'll teach him!

This week has also been eventful for the house sharing situation. The Dunns took possession of the house this past weekend so Shaun and Jenny have been slowly moving some boxes in. We let Bryce and Eliot run around the empty house and I think both kids enjoyed such freedom. After a few little touch ups here and there with paint and cleaning, we will start moving in! Once we are settled in visitors will be more than welcome.

Summer time fun

Bryce likes the water and is so glad Grandma and Grandpa got him this pool. So far this summer he has played in the pool, in the sprinkler and went to the splash pad (think water park with no pool or slides, just water spraying everywhere). Thanks for taking the photos G&G!

Brothers and Sisters

This past weekend was super busy, but in a good way. We got to meet the newest addition to the Dunn family, Xavier Christopher. How quickly I had forgotten how small newborns are. Xavier is small enough to tuck in one arm and is light as a feather. He's absolutely perfect and we can't wait to get to know him as he grows. The first thing Eliot announced to us as we walked in the door, "I'm a big brother!". Indeed he is and obviously a great one at that.

Our other weekend activies had to do with another big brother, and sister. Shaun's dad (Bill) was in town with his big brother Glenn and big sister Gayle. It was so nice for Bryce to meet his great aunt and uncle. Plus it was such a beautiful weekend that we were able to spend a lot of time outside. Bryce even got to ride in the backback as we walked around Lake Arlington, our future stomping grounds. It was nice to see the family dynamic between Bill and his siblings. Even after many decades living across the country, they can still kid around and tease each other like all siblings do. Bill: "Its nice to have you here, you make me look so much younger". Glenn: "Are you on the all sugar diet?" Here is a priceless picture of the Thistlethwaite kids on the swings.

Update on Shaun: he's doing GREAT!! They took out his staples last week so he just needs to continue to heal and take it easy. But he is feeling so good, we have to remind him to take it easy. The bar exam is in 48 days so major studying has begun. I need to hurry up with this post so he can get back on the computer. More pics and videos of Bryce to come next entry.

He's coming home!

The doctor is releasing Shaun from the hospital tomorrow!! He's already walked all around the hospital and is eager to get out of there. Shaun is such a trouper! Bryce and I are excited to have him home and cancer free (knock on wood).

Whoo Hoo Positive Results...

So Shaun is doing great in recovery now. The doctor told us he had the best outcome we could have expected. They did find four little spots of cancer but they were all on surfaces, not invasive. So no organs or parts of organs needed to be removed. In fact, they did the entire procedure laproscopically, so no big incision. They did the shake and bake procedure and the doctor seems very optimistic about the outlook. So maybe this is the cure we've been hoping for. We haven't seen him yet but the doctor says he is awake and talking. We should be able to see him in about an hour or two. Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers!