It’s been a hot minute since I published an update. We’ve been busy!

Lily decided that she wanted to try horseback riding lessons. We managed to find a stable that gives lessons in English, and they also ride Western! She has had 3 lessons and loves it.
Apparently they don’t have anyone as short as Lily – her little legs were too short for the stirrups. It didn’t change how she felt about the experience. Her smile says it all!
Lily’s entire 5th grade class went to a camp 3 hours away for 3 nights! I made her pack her own suitcase (and I didn’t double check her work). They stayed in a youth hostel (“The youth hostel in Hermeskeil was the place with the worst food, well almost, the only good things there were breakfast and the sandwiches. And some people had the smallest rooms in the world.“) and did all sorts of typical camp activities – archery, make a boat that floats, construct a shelter, build a tall tower, bonfires, stick bread (“The bread on a stick was not good, it was so bad, it kept falling off the stick and was not done on the inside.“), roasting marshmallows (“I did get 2 marshmallows, those were great. Liam taught me the best marshmallow toasting method. The outside was toasted and the inside was gooey.“). Apparently there were some challenges that they had to work through. “A challenge I faced was dealing with all of the tears, it got really annoying and I just wanted to go home and never hear tears again. I overcame that by just plugging my ears. Another challenge was not having my phone. I overcame that by playing outside and with my friends.” When I picked her up, she was all smiles and said it was awesome. But reading her school summary makes me wonder… “In conclusion there§ was a lot of drama. If I were to go back in time I would have stayed away from the drama and not go back to the youth hostel.“
I think it would have been awesome if they made them sleep in their “structures” one night.
It floated!!
Ty’s baseball teams continue to dominate. Teams 1 & 2 had to play a league game against each other and they made the local newspaper. (Thank goodness for Google Translate!)
I love our rose wall! And I love when my husband surprises me by putting a rose on my nightstand.
Hair appointment #2 was a MUCH better experience! I went to a lady in Königstein, she spoke English, and did a fine job. I still miss Brian, but I am relieved to have found someone here that can cover all my gray hairs.
So I did a thing. I got permanent eyeliner. I don’t wear much makeup, and I don’t wear it often. Having just a little bit on my top eyelid is kind of nice. “Did it hurt?” is the first question I get from people. Well, it didn’t NOT hurt, but it wasn’t terrible. She put some numbing cream on the eyelids which helped a lot. The whole procedure took ~30 minutes. I was puffy for a couple days after (kind of like how your eyes look after a big cry). Lily says that my eyeliner slays. I kind of love it.
Jay and Ty did a thing. The took public transportation (bus & train) to downtown Frankfurt to the public viewing areas of the Euros soccer tournament. It’s a HUGE deal here. Some of the games are played in Frankfurt, but getting tickets to the stadium is basically impossible. The city has put out ~20 giant screens along the Main River for people to be able to experience the game in a huge crowd.
They made it!
So. many. people.
The town park in our backyard had a weekend evening wine festival. I snapped this photo while they were setting up, and forgot to get one when it was open. We met up with our neighbors for a glass of wine and chat. So nice to be able to walk a few steps out the back door. 🙂
The softball team had a double header in Gammertingen, which is a 3+ hour drive away. Lily and I drove down the night before with another mom and 2 girls. GIRLS TRIP!! We stayed in a little town at the base of the Lichtenstein castle. It isn’t as old as some of the castles we have seen, but it was in an amazing location – right on the edge of the cliff. We didn’t have time to go inside, but we hiked around the grounds.
Such a cheeseball.
I mean, for real. According to Wikipedia: Lichtenstein Castle (Schloss Lichtenstein) is a privately owned Gothic Revival castle located in the Swabian Jura of southern Germany. It was designed by Carl Alexander Heideloff[1] and its name means “shining stone” or “bright stone”.[2] The castle overlooks the Echaz valley near Honau, Reutlingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The modern castle was inspired by Wilhelm Hauff‘s 1826 novel Lichtenstein and was built in 1840–1842. The ruins of an older medieval castle are a few hundred meters away. *Nicole’s note: We walked to the ruins, and there was hardly anything left. But the view was incredible.
Here’s a link to the website: https://www.schloss-lichtenstein.de/en/#  Count Wilhelm of Württemberg, Duke of Urach, had Lichtenstein Castle constructed on the historical foundation walls of a medieval knights’ castle. *Nicole’s note: This is like the ultimate show of wealth. Hey guy, you think you’re rich and powerful? Ha! That’s cute. Come visit me at my private CASTLE ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF.
Unfortunately I committed a crime. I parked in a space on the road for longer than the posted 30 minute allotment. Barely. It was like 40 minutes. I haven’t received the ticket in the mail yet – has to go through our rental car company first. To be continued…
The 2023/24 school year is FINALLY over! The kids’ last day of school was June 21. They both grew so much – physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have been so proud to watch them adapt to all of the things we threw at them the past 6 months: new country, new home, new school, new language, new friends, new time zone, new sports teams. Hopefully I don’t need to start posting #yearroundschool updates this summer…. What are our summer plans? The kids are continuing with their German lessons, a few more baseball and softball games, Lily is going to a Filmmaking Experience camp, Hamborg weekend, Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, then home to the US for a couple weeks at the end of July/early August. The Shearer’s will be at the Iowa State Fair Friday afternoon/evening (July 9) and Saturday morning.
We went on a short hike from Rettershof to Fischbach. It wasn’t our favorite hike – only ~3 miles, not much elevation, and not really in the woods.
The highlight of the hike – we discovered a Mexican restaurant and oh man, it was muy bueno!!

Speaking of favorite foods…remember when Lily wrote to Kraft Mac & Cheese about wanting to go to the German grocery story to buy mac & cheese? She went to the Rewe (grocery store) this week and THERE WAS KRAFT MAC & CHEESE ON THE SHELF!!!!! I don’t know if it was because of her letter, or purely a coincidence, but she is convinced that she is a change-maker. 🙂