Ugh. The Shearers were down for the count AGAIN! First Lily got sick, then Jay, then me. Influenza B this time. Somehow Ty managed to stay healthy through it all, which is a small miracle. I am so sick of being sick. The GERMS need to stay away. Shout out to Bobby for the blog post title idea. 😉
It’s been a while since I shared an update, because we have been just living our normal lives. Here are a couple highlights.
Jay’s high school friend, Gary, and his baby-mama came to visit us. Lindsey was 23 weeks pregnant with twins and was a trooper! They visited Paris, Switzerland, and Köln Germany within one week.Jay was their Uber driver to Switzerland. I had to stay home with the kids. Wah-wah.Our friend, Paul, celebrated the big 5-0 at the ice skating rink in Hoffheim. It was the perfect sunshiny day!We watched Molly’s Game and Lily immediately set up a family poker game.And she WON!!Ty’s basketball team played in The Hague, Netherlands last weekend. So strange to see my baby boy so far from home.3 day weekend in London. Ty is playing basketball against the American School of London and Lily and I are going to see Hamilton!
FIS lost their first game against ASL. Let’s hope tomorrow is a little better.
Classic Nicole move today. Ty is playing at ASL. Not ISL. What’s the difference between A and I? About an hour and a half on the Underground and an Uber. Whoops!!!! Thankfully we still made it in plenty of time to watch the game. Phew!
We drove to a coastal town, Faro, to explore a bit.There was a massive wall built around the city. The main tourist draw in the town is this unassuming church, Nossa Senhora do Carmo.It is like many old European churches – will I be struck down by lightning if I describe it as a bit gaudy?But then you wander out back to find a very small old cemetery and a little chapel – Capela dos Ossos. This is NOT like every other European church.Um….look closely. You are seeing what you think you are seeing. They ran out of space in the cemetery so they exhumed the bones of over 1200 bodies and covered the walls of the chapel. Never seen anything like it – never want to see it again.Jay was feeling the need for speed after being away from the autobahn for so long, so he and Ty found a couple go-kart tracks. Meanwhile, I had one of the best massages of my life at the hotel – Ricardo gets a 5+ star review from me!Perhaps Jay should have contemplated a career as a race car driver. Poor Ty spent the day inhaling Jay’s exhaust.But Ty got revenge by slamming into Jay’s broken bumper car over and over again. Lily got some good belly laughs in.We ended 2024 with a little sunset exploration of the coastline by our hotel. I love the rocky, shell-covered, cracked cliffs, watching the waves crash into them. We got all dressed up for New Year’s Eve and I didn’t take a family photo. After talking about dancing until 6:00 AM, Lily couldn’t make it to midnight. But I had a pretty amazing fireworks show from our hotel balcony. This picture doesn’t really show it great, but I could see at least 10 different fireworks displays.We drove into Albufeira on our last night in Portugal, January 1. While I am sure that the night before (and all summer long) the Strip was a hoppin’ place, it was pretty quiet. We had to use our imagination about what the atmosphere is normally like.
Some random thoughts about Portugal, in no particular order.
In the winter, 3-4 days in Algarve is plenty. Summer, different story. Definitely rent a car. Take the long way down the coast to get from Lisbon to Algarve.
The sun shines over 300 days each year. My Vitamin D deficiency should be eliminated now. While not super warm this time of year, it was a wonderful break from the cold and gray of the German winter. Anytime I can sleep with the windows open (snuggled under a blanket with warm pjs) in December is a great night.
Red wine from Duoro is amazing.
The Portuguese people are relatively short. I am short. I loved being able to sit in most chairs and have my feet lay flat on the ground (this is not usually the case for me). It’s the little things…
I liked Lisbon, but Algarve has some sort of special sauce. Lovely people, beautiful views, gorgeous coastline, sunshine, delicious food and wine, and a super chill and happy vibe.
This has been a long vacation. I am thankful to work for a company that completely shuts down between Christmas and New Year’s. It is the one time of year when I can 100% completely unplug and unwind. My email inbox stays blissfully quiet. While it was not at all a traditional Christmas season for us, and we missed our typical family celebrations, it was great to spend so much uninterrupted time with Jay, Ty, and Lily.
The 2024 New Year lived up to its name – new home, new country, new school, new friends, new teams, new adventures.
January.
1st day of FISW – 5th & 8th grades. Königstein castle. Redwings. FISW Basketball. Heidelberg.
February.
The highlight was definitely the trip to Italy. Rome, Florence, and Venice. Rome still lands near the top of our list of favorite places we have visited.
March.
Hikes, indoor softball, clubbing, and Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
May.
Vaters Tag (Fathers Day). Medieval Festival. Redwings. Auntie Shell <3. Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. Ty’s 14th Geburtstag (birthday). Solo work trip to Budapest. And the Backstage Crew at the school play.
June.
Euro Disney. Last day of 5th & 8th grades. Eurocup. Horse lessons.
July.
Köln Day Trip. Lily’s 11th Geburtstag. Taylor Swift Eras Tour in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Royals Baseball State Champions. Auntie Shell’s funeral. Montana. New jobs.
August.
Ty’s drivers permit. Best time spent with my bestie. Iowa State Fair. 1st day of 6th & 9th grades. New school for Ty. Bad Soden Wine festival. Paris.
September.
FISO JV Rugby. School camping trips. Soccer. Deutsche Meister Baseball Championships in Füssen and Regensburg. Aunt Jekka and Uncle Jason!! Riley!! Crazy kids at Oktoberfest in München. Kitzbühel, Austria.
October.
Salzburg, Austria. Amsterdam. Frankfurt Oktoberfest. Softball Deutschemeister in Karlsruhe. Frankfurt Eintracht soccer game. More rugby + concussion = overnight in German hospital. Birkenstock Hotel in Switzerland. Halloween.
November.
Kirk & Sherry!! Paris. Crete, Greece. Christmas markets. Ravenna Gorge, Black Forest. Thanksgiving. New glasses. Another new job.
December.
FISO JV Basketball. Girls weekend in Nuremberg. Still riding horses. Jon-Jon!! Goose dinner. Lisbon and Algarve Portugal. 466 day DuoLingo German streak
Phew! That was a LOT! We only have so much time – in Europe, with our kiddos, on this planet. Trying to make as many memories as possible. Work hard, play hard. As the sun sets on the last day of 2024, the Shearers want to wish everyone a happy new year!!
Shearer Adventure 