Barnes & Noble

Family Time

One of my favorite places to take the kids (especially on rainy days) is Barnes & Noble!  Not only are there books for reading, but ours has a train table, computers with games, a Lego section, a puppet section, and on the opposite side of the store a huge reading section with tables, chairs, and a stage for the kids where they do story time on Tuesdays. Ummm, and to be REALLY honest they have yummy coffee and home baked goods that we just have to partake in!

On this particular adventure we went with Daddy, so mommy was able to snap pictures of our trip!  A luxury mommy can't always do when she's alone with two happy toddlers.

One thing I love about having two kids is...there's one for each parent to watch!  So often times I say to John, "Do you have the boy?"  And he'll say, "You go watch the monkey!" LOL, Julia is our little monkey and bean because she never sits still and can always be found climbing on something!  Mark is our mellow man.  He is so content just riding in a stroller with Dad, with thumb firmly planted in his mouth, making quiet little comments along the way...what a little guy he is.

Julia is our curious, explorer!  Off to a new adventure.  Ready to conquer the world, and make a best friend along the way!  Just last night, I took the kids to Barnes and Noble and she made two best friends in about twenty minutes, a little boy named Benji and a seven year old girl named Arianna who's birthday was on July 4th and her sister has the exact same birthday!  So cool!  I had to talk to the mom about that one!  "Couldn't have done that one even if I planned it..." she said.

John and I took the kids to the stage area and the kids walked all over, met new kids, asked us questions about the mural, took out books, we read them, we also got some coffee and a biscotti!  (Mark and I shared...Julia was too busy making friends and reading about princesses to care about eating food.)  Whoever thought of a place where you could read/play with all the merchandise while having coffee and cookies and then put everything back without buying it was truly a genius!  We get lots of ideas for Christmas presents here too!  I see what they are interested in and play with for a long time and I file it away for the Grandmas when they ask, "What should I get Julia?  What should I get Mark?"  This year it is going to be puppies in purses for Julia, and Legos for Mark!

Want to see what Julia did with all of the stuffed puppies on the shelf?  She laid down two adult puppies and lined up all the babies next to the mama.  "Julia, what are the puppies doing?" (I asked fully aware of the scene we saw at the farm with the piglets) "They are drinking milk from their mommy!"  "Oh! they must be so hungry!"  "Mmmmhmmm."  She said busily adding more puppies and getting mad at Mark when he stepped over them because she didn't want any of the puppies to get hurt.  Is this genius or what?  Okay, I'm biased, but at least I got a photograph of her geniusness!

Here is my train conductor at the train table.  He could play here for hours with Thomas the train, James, Percy, and Mighty Mac...such an imagination this little guy has and now I get to hear him talking about what the trains are doing...especially if I ask the right questions!

Mommy: Mark, are you having fun, "Yea!"  Mommy: What are you doing?  "Playin' Trains!"  Mommy: Are your trains going fast? "Yea!"

So that's what Family Time at Barnes and Noble is like for us!

Mommy likes it because there's coffee. 

Daddy likes it because you can play with all the stuff but not have to buy it or bring it home. 

Mark likes it because he can walk all around like a big boy and play with trains and Legos. 

Julia likes it because she can meet new kids, read about princesses, and act and play on the stage.

And there you have it!  Our adventures at Barnes and Noble!

And people are always coming up to me and saying, "I can tell you read to your children because look at them reading books!"  And you can hear Julia "reading" her books and of course acting them out with voice changes and inflections, just like mommy and daddy do at home.

What fun Family Time places do you go?