Mr. Beans

 3/6-  It's a big day for the Bartlett kids!  We're driving down to see the new family business today.  That's right... we bought a business!!   Mr. Beans is a two location restaurant in Cedar Rapids. We are so excited about it and see some great potential for an already thriving business.  This was the first time the kids had seen either location.  And Dad's been putting in some serious hours this week, so we're excited to go see him also!  We drove during naptime, so three of the kids zonked out for the entire drive.  (My plan exactly!)   When we arrived, Kezia saw her daddy and shrieked with excitement.  Then she just clung to his leg for a long long time.  It made me tear up.  She LOVES her daddy.

Dad took the kids on a tour of the downtown location.  They were excited to peek in all the drawers in the meeting room.

Both locations have meeting rooms that groups can book for events.  Some meetings are catered, some just grab something at the counter and use the room.  There's lots of great potential for these rooms.... both have projectors/screens/technology for meetings as well.

Checking out one of the seating areas downtown.

We told the kids about the new business on Sunday and showed them pictures on Dad's computer. We talked about what they served and I mentioned rolls.  Since that conversation, the only thing they could think about was trying a roll.  They would bring it up several times a day... it's all they wanted to do- try a roll at Mr. Beans.  One night on the phone, I heard Boaz ask, "Dad- did you get to try one of those rolls yet?"   It seriously cracked me up all week.  Today they got to fulfill their dream... trying a roll.  They were delicious!!

Cainan was sooooo hungry when we got there, so we pretty much went straight for the rolls.

Come on!  Let's go check the place out!

Cainan grabbed the camera and wanted to document for a bit.  Here's Dad with his cool security badge.  On the way out of the building, Dad had to swipe this to head to the parking garage... some cool doors swung open for him like a spy movie.  The boys loved it.

This is what Cainan wanted to remember about Mr. Beans when he was in control of the camera....

Every single row of the beverage cooler.   :)  Can you tell what this kid thinks about 24-7?  Food and drink.

A view to the street.  The downtown location is so sleek and modern.  It's just a beautiful place.  So proud to call it ours!

Seating are by the ordering counter.

Kezia running laps in the meeting room.

The kids brought Dad a present for his new office.

We loaded up and headed to the Marion location.  Kezia had fun exploring.

The boys got to have a beverage at this store.  Several people commented about how well-behaved the kids were.  For being so tired, they were doing a great job.  Mostly because of food and drink promises.  But they were patient and considerate and excited to see the places.

The boys got a kick out of the coffee mug pillows in one of the seating areas.

Just checking the place out.

Front room seating area.  I could spend some time sitting here!!

Marion meeting room.  It was a nice place to corral kids while Luke took care of some things.

Some previous group had written a word of the day on the white board.  The word was EXEMPT.  So we spent a long time thinking of ways to use the word exempt.  Here's Boaz telling me that I am exempt from something... I can't remember what, but his examples were funny.  After visiting the locations, we went out for dinner with Dad and enjoyed our time with him.  Dad's working so hard this week... it's a BIG undertaking, but we're so proud of him for diving in!!

3/7-  Is winter over yet?  Seriously... we're tired of being inside.  Today I built houses for each kid.  It sort-of provided some entertainment for awhile.

Today we talked about incline planes, so we put up a couple of them for our cars to race on.

Some kids were pretty excited when Dad came home this evening!!

Being goofy in laundry bags.

"Hi, Dad!"  "Hi, Dad!"   When Myka says something, Kezia repeats it.  I hear things twice all day.  It's hilarious.