BenSpark Family Adventures

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00882 Everyone was home today and so once I woke up from work last night we enjoyed playing Monster Expedition together. Amigo Games sent us a free copy of this fun game. This is a faster paced game than Carnival of Monsters. It is played with a set of dice and as you advance in the game you can roll even more dice to hunt monsters and upgrade your supply camps. The cards are beautifully illustrated and the game is pretty quick to learn and play. We played a few rounds and it was fun. After the game we watched the last two episodes of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Those were some good episodes. I liked how this season ended and everyone in the house enjoyed the story. There were some really fun characters on the team.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00881 I’ve been collecting the Funko Transformers Pop! figures and I just learned about the Grimlock one. I first saw it online for a crazy amount of money but then looked more and found that Gamestop had it for just $15.00 so I ordered it and it arrived quickly. I did an unboxing video of it on my daily vlog.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00880 On Saturdays I build LEGO. This week is the new Shang-Chi set #76176. The set includes Shang-Chi, Katy, Razor Fist and Wenwu. Plus another Morris. I don’t think this was that special of a set because it is basically just a car and a couple of motorcycles. I am hoping that there would a be better set overall like the bus from the trailer. That would be fun to recreate the fight scene on the bus, but who knows, there may be a great car chase in the movie. Of course, we have to wait until November to find out. My review of the build is in the video below.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00879 Noble Toys sent me some of the DC Superheroes BendyFigs from their The Noble Collection for free to unbox and review. Opinions are my own. You can learn more about the BendyFigs at BendyFigs.com. These Toyllectibles are really nice seven inch figures with stands so that they can be displayed. Noble Toys sent me three figures including The Flash, Superman and Batman. I was very excited for Batman because of the recent Batman/Fortnite Zero Point comic books. I’m loving the comic and so I’m getting back into Batman in the comics. The figure is cool with a long cape that has a purple inside with his signature utility belt. The base has the DC logo and the Batman logo on it as well. The Flash has a great suit and he is my son’s favorite character. He’s excited about displaying The Flash in his room. Superman has a fantastic strong pose with a bright blue suit and red cape. His symbol is the classic red and yellow one and he has a belt with symbol as well. His Su...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00878 Today was Stripe Test for Andy, Eva and Me. Stripe Test happens every month on our way to our next belts. Andy and I need to earn 6 stripes to earn a next belt. Eva is at the level where she has to earn three stripes in order to get her next belt. That means that if we do well this coming month and pass our next Stripe/Belt test then we will each advance to a new belt. After my test this morning I started the daily vlog and my intent was to have each of the kids talk with me about their testing experiences. Eva was eager to do so and I have included some footage of her test in the video. She is doing a really great job in class and really enjoys being there. It is physically demanding but she is really growing stronger and more confident each class. She did very well in her test. I asked Andy if he would like to be a part of the vlog but he did not want to be part of it. Andy is struggling right now in his classes. He has expressed that he no longer enjoys ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00877 Each year that I have been a member of the Marvel Unlimited Plus program they send me a new action figure. This year the action figure was Ms. Marvel in her Spider-Man costume. This figure comes with two additional arms so that you can make Ms. Marvel embiggen her arms. It is a very cool figure. I created an unboxing video of the Marvel Unlimited Box.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00876 Tonight Allison and I went to test drive some cars over at the Kia dealership. My lease is up June 1 and it was time to get a new lease. This time the new car goes to Allison. I will take her current car as my own until we pay that off and then we will look at a lease for me. I’ll probably want another Kia Forte since that was a solid reliable car that I enjoyed driving. Allison had wanted a Kia Sorento but it is outside of our price range. So, we checked out the Kia Sportage instead. The car is comparable to her current ride and she liked it. I was planning on coming back the next day to do all the paperwork and turn in my car but we were able to take the test drive and work the deal all in an hour and a half. It was the shortest time I’d ever spent there. I go back tomorrow to pick it up. We made a quick video outside the dealership before we went home.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00875 Carp are back in the Ten Mile River. The first time I had ever seen them was last year when we were talking our daily walks. This morning I got up and took a nice long walk and along the way I saw the Carp. Yesterday I had gone out too early so I missed seeing them. Someone had posted an image that the carp were near the Olive Street Bridge. We did not see them at all yesterday no matter where we looked. They were not to be found. Today, however, they were plentiful and very active. Last year I heard them before I ever saw them. They were thrashing around in the water so loudly I thought that a dog or something had fallen in the river. They weren’t as loud this year but they were certainly back and they are huge.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00874 I took a walk with Allison today. We haven’t been on our daily walks for some time and it is about time that we start again. We might not be going back daily but we are going to try and walk a lot more than we have been through the winter. I think the cold weather and quarantine caught up with us pretty good. We had done so well last Spring and Summer and it is something we have to get back into doing. Along the route we take there were a bunch of geese and their babies. These geese have been all over the bike path as evidenced by the land mines they leave behind. It is a lot of careful walking along this part of the route. It was nice to get out and take a walk today.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00873 I built the LEGO set of Iron Man Armory for my daily vlog. This is a fun set that includes Tony Stark and a couple of Iron Man suits plus two A.I.M. Agents. This small set is actually one that I could connect to a previous set called the Hall of Armor. I have that set and it is pretty awesome. This just makes the amount of Armor that Iron Man has even bigger. You can see what the set looks like in today’s vlog below.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00872 We received an advanced Reader’s copy of the upcoming book, Pizazz by Sophy Henn from Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. Opinions are our own.This middle grade book is about a 9 year old reluctant superhero. Andy loved it and he is hard to find books for. The book is heavy on illustrations and is a really fun read. I let Andy read the book first and he did it in less than two days. That is a big win and endorsement by Andy. Then we talked about it together. He did give away the big reveal but that was because I asked what Pizazz had as a super power. The reveal is fun. I reviewed the book in today’s vlog. The book will be released on June 1, 2021 along with the second book in the series, Pizazz vs. The New Kid.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00871 I picked up a special edition set of Marvel themed body washes from Everyman Jack. I’m not the only one in the house who enjoys these body washes. I learned that both Eva and Andy use my body wash, too. When I got the special edition ones Eva was first in line to give them a sniff test. There are four versions. Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther and Spider-Man. I photographed the Spider-Man one and was going to use it for today’s photo but then Eva wanted it so that she could take a photo of it to sent to her best friend. So, instead, I photographed Eva photographing the body wash and that cracked me up. Here is my photo.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00870 Whenever Allison comes into Eva’s room and gives her a hug James comes out from wherever he is and meows at her. Allison told me about this tonight and so I tried to see if he would do that if I hugged Eva. I hugged her and so he did look up and meow at me. I then tried to catch he giving me the stink eye as I hugged Eva. It is pretty funny.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00869 I found some new Disney Character cars the other day and I am excited that they made a Bruce car. Bruce is the reformed Great White Shark that claims that “Fish are friends, not food”. It is also funny that his name is Bruce. Bruce is what they named the animatronic shark they used for Jaws. I love that because on one level Finding Nemo is fun to the kids but there are also parts that are great for kids.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00868 Disney Hyperion often sends me books for free so that I can review them. Opinions are my own. One series that I love for the kids is the Bruce series. Bruce is a big grumpy bear that hates everything except for eggs, that is until he ends up letting some eggs hatch and becomes an adoptive parent to a gaggle of geese. Through the series of books Bruce also shares his home with three mice and it has done nothing to improve Bruce’s mood. He’s still a total grump. In the Bruce Swap we are introduced to Bruce’s cousin Kevin. Kevin is a very fun bear. He loves to have an incredible amount of fun. However, his fun tends to get completely out of control. While the geese and mice want to have a lot of fun they realize that this new fun “Bruce” is more than they bargained for and they are quite happy to have the real Bruce back after a time. I did a video review as well.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00867 I have a few Marvel LEGO sets hanging around the house that I have yet to build. I picked out the Iron Man Hulkbuster versus A.I.M. Agent set. The set has the Hulkbuster plus Iron Man, Rescue and two A.I.M. Agents. While the set is a good one I think they cheaped out on the Iron Man and Rescue figures because they do nto have flip up helmets and Rescue’s suit is red and not blue. But the build was fun and this now is in the display cubby on my desk. One side is now LEGO and the other Transformers.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00866 Andy went for a haircut today. Allison told me that when she picked him up his barber, Zack, was thrilled to have Andy come in. They have a nice time together talking video games and playing brain teasers. Zack said that Andy was very polite and well behaved. As a parent that is great to hear. Before the pandemic I would sit in the waiting room and listen to Andy and Zack talk together. Andy is always happy to come in and get a haircut and that has so much to do with how he and Zack get on together. Before I started shaving my head myself I would go to Zack, too. He enjoys talking comic books and movies with me. So it was nice to hear about how well Andy behaves when we are not around.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00865 The other day I got the garage totally cleaned up and ready to assemble the B.A.S. Body Action system. This morning I went and started to set it up. I learned that I needed some sand to weigh down the bags that hold the B.A.S. in place. So, I went to Lowe’s and picked up 3 50lb bags. The setup instructions call for 6 bags but I got 10 bags with the set. I ended up filling 8 of them so there is 150lbs holding this down. Putting the B.A.S. together went really well. I liked everything about it until I had to put the protective foam covers back on the bars. They just don’t fit right once you put the arms on. I contemplated cutting up a bunch of pool noodles to custom fit some coverings. I’ll have to check on it again and see if I can fit them better. This afternoon I was able to spend some time with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin and her kids. They came up to go to the zoo that is around the corner from us. I was able to give a few of our older toys to the kids ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00864 Tonight we took the kids to bliss for some Ice Cream. It was our first trip of the season. Dinner was over early and we had everything finished for the night, the kids homework was done and I complete making my videos so it was a great time to get out of the house and have a nice treat.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00863 Allison has been flexing her creative muscles while in quarantine. She is sewing, crocheting and of course Knitting. She’s got another project that she is starting soon that is embroidery related. She recently ordered some air succulents and is crocheting things to use to hold them. Apparently these just need to be misted and they stay alive. So she made holders to look like octopus and other animal. they are very cute. She keeps impressing me with her creativity.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00862 Last month when I attended the John Whitman seminar at America’s Best Defense I had a photo taken with John. I posted it to Instagram and tagged him in it. Then I checked out his Instagram account and there I saw that he had this amazing shirt at his dojo that said Strength & Kindness. The message behind the shirt is this, “strength to take care of ourselves and our loved ones; kindness to support others”. I thought that was an amazing sentiment and considered trying to order one through his organization. However, the other day I saw that the new Summer Shirt at ABD was a their version of this shirt and I love it! I bought one for each person in the family including Allison. I talked about it a bit in today’s daily vlog.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00861 While going through more boxes today and moving more of them I came across some of my most prized Transformers figures. My in the box sealed and mint Wheeljack, A couple of Optimus Primes and some G.I. JOE figures. I have two of the Masterpiece Optimus Prime and one is in the box and the other was loose. I took the loose one and added it to the box on my desk so now I have the Optimus Prime that can become Orion Pax, the R.E.D. version Optimus Prime and the Masterpiece one. I was thinking about grabbing my original Optimus, too but that might just make that spot too busy. You can see what else I discovered in the video below.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00860 Today was Mother’s Day and it started with Crepes for breakfast. Andy came into my office at 6:30am and told me that he had made the crepes batter and asked if I could make them. So, when I finished work at 7am I went downstairs and began to make some crepes and sausage for a Mother’s Day breakfast. He’s a thoughtful big-hearted kid. The kids gave Allison her gifts which included some handmade earrings from Eva and a clay creation from Andy. Both kids are quite talented when they get creative. In the afternoon we had sushi from Four Seasons. The kids tried some of the different rolls that we got but settled on their old favorites. It was a nice meal and nice to have everyone home to share it.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00859 We received a free Twin size Batman™ Complete Bed Set from Morning Bird. Opinions are our own. Andy is a fan of Batman and so when I had the chance to review a new bedding set from Morning Bird I was excited to see that they had the The Complete Batman™ Bed Set. This bedding set is 100% cotton and is made without pesticides or harsh chemicals. I personally like the design of this bedding set. The colors are bold and the style is a classic representation of Batman. It is a set I would have loved to have had as a kid. The set also came with a knit throw blanket that Andy can use while hanging out on the futon under his bed. Morning Bird has several other sets including Paw Patrol, My Little Pony, Jurassic World, Trolls, Frozen and L.O.L. Surprise. More about the Batman™ Complete Bed Set below. Is Batman™ your favorite superhero? Great Gotham, ours too! The Dark Knight is ready for crime-fighting action on this comic book themed bedding collection. The Complet...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00858 My parents gave me a shelf that used to hang in the kitchen. It was filled with pewter and other knick-knacks. I hung it up in my office and I am starting to slowly fill it with a few of my smaller toys. I’ll be going through a bunch of things to see exactly what I want to put in it. Right now things are just filling the space. I just need a little more time to go through everything and decide what I really want to display.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00857 Eva loves having her boy James. She loves that he’s a big cuddly kitty. He’s a fat cat. He really is. He spends his time with her so she can cuddle with him and he loves it, too.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00856 We had a nice Cinco De Mayo dinner tonight with Tacos and I enjoyed my one drink a year. We enjoyed some margaritas with the mix we got from our purchase at the Kentucky Humane Society. It is one of my favorite drinks and that is why it gets the honor of being my one a year. And then I remembered that I had a Guinness on Saint Patrick’s Day.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00855 I really thought that today I would get around to watching the Bad Batch on Disney+. Instead I waited too long only to find out that it was a 70 minute episode. That is great but I didn’t have time to actually watch it. So, instead I watched the 3 minute short of Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens From Its Nap. That was pretty funny overall. I enjoyed it because of the classic Simpsons humor to it. I didn’t do much to celebrate Star Wars Day today. Not like years past with so many fun Star Wars related stuff but at least there is a new fun show that has started on Disney+ that I can’t wait to watch. But I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00854 Back in the 80’s there were two things that were huge for kids Wrestling and Garbage Pail Kids. Sure, there were other things as well but those things were the talk of the recess crowd. Well, The Loyal Subjects have taken those two things and put them together with their GPK WWE figures. They sent me one of them for free because I am part of a Twitter Party this Friday with The Toy Insider.  The figures are between 4 and 5 inches tall and there are 4 of them in the series. The one they sent me was Gigantic Andre. Obviously a take on Andre the Giant. The guy is probably the largest figure and they make him look even bigger by making his foot appear to be crushing the ring. I made a video about the figure as part of my daily vlog.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00853 I opened my Spiderman and Ghost Rider Vs. Carnage LEGO set. I got this a while back but never had a chance to put it together. I love the car, it looks awesome and has these flames that you can take off or put on depending upon Ghost Rider being in his Ghost Rider form or his Robbie Reyes form. The car has larger back wheels and smaller front ones so the car is lifted in the back. I am a big fan of how LEGO makes their cars and this muscle car is no different. It looks great and has a massive engine and looks screaming fast.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00852 Amigo Games gave me a copy of their new game, Monster Expedition for free. I have not had a chance to review yet but I loved Carnival of Monsters and this game is set in that same space. I’m talking about the game today because Amigo Games has launched a giveaway on their Instagram account and I wanted to make you aware of it.  You could win: Grand Prize (x1) – Monster Expedition, Carnival of Monsters, Saboteur, No Thanks, Take 5, Dealt!, AND What the Heck? …all packed into a handy Top Shelf Fun Game Haul bag! Runner Up (x2) – Monster Expedition & Carnival of Monsters Consolation (x5) – Choice of one card pack (Saboteur, No Thanks, Take 5, Dealt!, or What the Heck?) The Fine Print: Contest begins May 1st and will run through the entire month with winners announced in June. No purchase necessary– just follow our Instagram account. One entry per person. Contest open to U.S., Mexico, & Canada residents only. Good luck! ABOUT THE GAME: Monsters Exp...