First Day in Schieder-Schwalenberg....

(Yes, that is a mouthful to say. In the right accent also, don't forget. Hopefully I'll be sounding like a German native by the time I leave this place.)

Ho-kay, so...
This morning, I woke up. Good start, right? I felt so much better than I had yesterday. I took a shower (ahhhhhh!) and then started unpacking what clothes I could actually fit in my suitcase (which looked very meager when hung up and folded into the dresser). As I was unpacking, Alwina asked if I could take a break and eat some breakfast. Well, those of you who know me know what a silly question that is to ask. "Sure!" I said.
So we (and by we I mean myself, Alwina, and Levin) went to the table and said our prayer before we sat down, because they pray standing up here. Breakfast consisted of bread (or broht as they pronounce it), cheese (kesa), meat (vorte, I think?), jelly, tomatoes, and cucumbers (guacoms). She said they eat bread at every meal. I'm so down with that :)
Then, after breakfast, we went to the store so I could get some things. Here's some pictures from on the way:

The playground in their neighborhood.

Levin on his bike. Being a pro :)

Kindergarten. The same in any language (well, the same in English and German, anyway...)

The beautiful path we were walking on.

The street sign. SchiederSee is a part of Schieder-Schwalenberg.

The palace in their neighborhood. From the back.

Alwina and Levin posing :)

Levin wanted me to take a photo of him on the steps :)

The castle from the front.

Okay, so after we got back to the house, I finished unpacking and the other two boys (Lionel and Elias) arrived home shortly afterwards.

What their house looks like from the front.

Due to the amount of time it takes to upload pictures onto my blog, I might just refer you to my Facebook. Like, a lot. haha

After the boys got home, I toured the house with my camera and took many pictures of the inside.

The staircase. Which is one of my favorite staircases EVER.

My bathroom while I'm here. LOVE IT!

My shower. Yes, it will be a pain to clean. haha

The living room Where the kids LOVE to play games on the table. Which hurts my back because I'm an old woman.

The dining room table. Where the magic happens.

The kitchen. Lovely.

After the tour of the house (more in-depth pictures on Facebook), we played UNO! Then we ate lunch. Then we went down to the sea to play in the park. I posted a video of a ride down at the park that looked super fun. Lionel and Elias rode it for the first time, and Levin pouted because he wanted to ride it, but he's not old enough :(

The three boys. From left to right: Elias (9), Lionel (7), and Levin (3).

Levin and Lionel on an awesome contraption that's a mix between a see-saw and a merry-go-round.

Levin on the slide.

Levin cheesing out.

Elias lookin' legit.

Lionel BEING A SWEETIE! Yes, he picked those for me!

By the time we got home from the park, it was almost 5 o'clock. I taught Elias and Lionel how to play "Go Fish!" with the playing cards I brought. Then I taught them how to play "War." They, of course, love both games. I think we'll step it up later, and I'll teach them "Egyptian Rat Slap," though I might call it something else to make it more appealing. Maybe "War on Steroids"? What do you guys think? haha
After we played cards, dinner was ready. We had WAFFLES! I love this family so much already. =D Instead of putting butter and syrup on their waffles, they put either chocolate spread or this spread of sweet, thickened milk on. I like the chocolate spread the best.
When dinner was over, we did family devotions, which Wilhelm said we will do every night while I'm here. Baller!!! So he read my favorite Psalm tonight (Psalm 62) and I read it in English afterward. Then we all prayed and the boys went to bed. Wilhelm started to show me pictures of a mission trip he took, and my eyes grew heavy (and my heart was calling me to Skype anyway).
So now I'm getting ready for bed. And posting on here. Hamlin tomorrow! As in, Pied Piper home! I'm super stoked! More later =D