BenSpark Family Adventures

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01640 I rinsed and washed Andy’s tie-dye shirt from Monday’s event at Rock Spot. Andy picked up this shirt when they went to the mall with Allison and Eva and Eva’s friends. It says on it, “Overthinking and Also Hungry”. Sounds about right. The shirt was plain white so Andy decided that rather than buying a new rock Spot shirt we’d just tie-dye this one instead. It came out really nice, the colors were very vibrant. The shirt looks way better than the ones I made at ABD. I should have taken those shirts with me to that we could have fixed them or something. Maybe we’ll do our own tie-dying this Summer.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01639 Buddy week continues at the dojo and today at Krav the adults learned a few techniques for being choked from behind. Sensei did call on me to help demonstrate but saw how sweaty I was and picked someone else. He called on another person and they came up to me asking if they could borrow some sweat. Everyone got a good laugh. I was trying hard to have a very hard workout because I’ll be off for a month and I know I’m going to feel so behind when I return. We did not learn the hip toss in the adult class, which is good because I did not have my regular partner. My partner for this could have thrown me across the room and I would have probably had a spinal injury trying to move him. For the afternoon class the kids worked on the technique that the adults learned in the morning which ultimately lead to learning how to defend against being choked from behind while seated at a school desk. Andy helped with one part of the demonstration. I’ve warned him that they ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01638 Dad came up today to help me finish the downstairs bathroom. Well, we finished everything that he had left to do. We still need some plumbing on the heat but otherwise we are done. Dad and I started by hanging the new lights, medicine cabinet, towel racks, guest towel rack and toilet paper holder. Once that was done we ran to Lowe’s to pick up the shower door. Installing the shower door would take up our afternoon. We got the door plus some lights and a couple other items. When we came back we started installing the door. It was complex but between the two of us we were able to get through the instructions and get it hung up. It was a long day for everyone but the end result was fantastic. We are so appreciative to the work that dad did on the bathroom. It looks great! We’ve just got to wait 24 hours before we can use it.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01637 Eva and Andy learned how to do hip tosses at Jr. Krav today. Eva got to throw Andy but Andy did not get to throw Eva. I did try and convince Miss Alex to have them switch it up but she said no. Andy did get to hip toss some other kids, though. It is a week before vacation so it is buddy week and that means we learn some different techniques and stray a bit from the curriculum. When I come back in august I’ll be training with the Black Belts and learning that curriculum. It’ll be like being a white belt all over again.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01636 Today I took Andy to Rock Spot for some climbing and to a Tie-Dye event. Andy took one of their new shirts with them to tie dye. This tie-dye event had a much better tie-dye outcome than the ABD one. Much more ink, someone who knew exactly how to get the perfect spiral and we were basically the only ones there. I should have brought my ABD shirt so I could have fixed it. Andy had fun and also did some climbing. Andy likes to have a challenge so they decided that they would climb one wall using only animal shaped holds. This proved difficult but in the end Andy did make it up the wall. Of course, they did tire themselves out and we didn’t stay and climb all that long. It is okay, some climbing is all that Andy needed. I know Andy is going to miss it this Summer and can’t wait to start back up in the Fall. My Black Belt Certificate was expertly framed by my cousin’s shop, The Preservation Framer. It was completed and Allison picked it up for me. I hung it on ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01635 This morning I left work and went right to a 5K to crush cancer. I was part of the America’s Best Defense team and walked to raise money for the For Kids’ Sake Foundation Inc. I knew that I’d not be running the event, I’d be walking it and that was okay, it was a nice 3 mile walk and I saw a bunch of people that I knew. Many people were walking or running and many more were behind the scenes volunteering or cheering people on there were about 15 people on the ABD Team. We raised about $3500 for the charity. Quite a few of the people on the team were fellow newly ranked Black Belts. When I started out I thought I was walking t a pretty good clip but so many people were ahead of me, It wasn’t until I chanced a look behind me to see that I was not, in fact, the last person on the course. But man, it feels like that sometimes. At the top of Fuller Street I ran into my friend from high School, Marybeth. she and her daughter were working the first water station a...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01634 I finally found the Namor character car from Hot Wheels. I also picked up the Shuri car because I cannot remember if I actually got that one before. I think I did not cannot be sure until I get home. I had to work from the office tonight and stopped at Walmart before coming in to check and see if they had any new character cars.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01633 As we get closer and closer to completing the bathroom work we now have a working sink. Our plumber came by yesterday and installed the new faucets and connected the sink. Of course it was on a day when the city was working on a water main break and we had gross water for the morning, but the work got done. The last thing left to do is to connect the heating unit that is under the vanity. Then I can put the doors on the vanity and we can put everything up on the walls and then we should be all done.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01632 Tonight the kids had their Jr. Krav graduation. Well, Andy did, Eva’s next step is to test for a black belt. Andy earned the rank of purple belt. This means that Andy moves out of the foundational side of the floor over to the underbelt side of the floor and will be expected to get even more serious about training. I know that Andy can do this because I saw how serious they were tonight with a black belt as a partner. Don’t get me wrong, I like that Andy has found a friend to train with during classes but they are goofballs together and tonight’s training required more seriousness. Today’s lesson was all about clinches and then at the end takedowns. This meant taking down your partner to the floor in a controlled manner. The take downs were by controlling the neck of your partner. Everyone paired up with people of the same size. Andy and a black belt teen named Gabby were paired up. Andy took this training very seriously and it showed. Gabby was great with ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01631 Andy loves to bake and cook and spend time in the kitchen. Today Andy made some brookies. They were quite tasty. Andy does need to be more patient and let them cool completely before cutting them next time. But they were still pretty good to eat. Allison and I sat in on Andy’s therapy session today. We talked with the therapist about everything that went on this past week and how Andy will be attending another school next year. Andy is feeling relived to be going somewhere else. We’re certainly having mixed feelings about everything but agree that Andy’s former school was not a safe environment for Andy. We’re working on getting Andy all that they need for support and the tools to make a fresh start in the Fall.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01630 This morning Allison woke me at 7am to let me know that our neighbor Joannie was outside because her hot water heater was spewing water. I got up, got dressed and grabbed the wet vac. I went over and shut everything off for her and then started sucking up the water. The day did not improve. Well, the bright shining spots of the day were Krav and Jr. Krav classes. Those are always a highlight and help us out with everything else going on. After Krav I ran home quick to shower and then turned right around to go to Andy’s school. Allison and I had to meet with the principal and a counselor regarding Andy. Suffice to say, this was not a good meeting. We had already decided that Andy would not be returning to this school in the Fall. We’re enrolling them in public school instead. This year was a terrible year for Andy. The kids in Andy’s class singled Andy out to bully and tease relentlessly. We want Andy to be happy and that can not possibly happen at this scho...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01629 This afternoon we went over to Lowe’s after we went to see Spider-Man – Across the Spiderverse. The movie was excellent and everyone enjoyed it very much. We are looking forward to Part II of this movie coming out in another year or so. It was visually amazing with a great story, too. Afterwards we went to Lowe’s to pick out all the hardware for the walls of the bathroom. We needed new towel racks, a towel ring, toilet paper holder and a couple other things. Dad’s coming up next week sometime to help finish installing everything. We wanted to make sure that everything was ready for him. The kids were goofing around with the mirrors as we were selecting the hardware. They were being little goofs. We also ordered our shower door which should come in on Friday.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01628 We had a very nice Father’s Day around here. I went and got some donuts for breakfast for the family. Then it was time to get some sleep. I did happen to get a decent amount of sleep. When I woke up I was greeted with a special baked good from Andy. Andy made some lemon blueberry bread and it was delicious! We enjoyed a nice cook out for dinner. Allison picked up some amazing burgers from The Meat Bar and we also enjoyed some corn on the cob. It was a very nice meal.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01627 I’ve been a part of Marvel Unlimited since it began. Marvel Unlimited is the online library of over 30,000 Marvel comic books. I can read so many series right on my iPad. Each year members get some exclusive items for being members. There are many action figures as part of these exclusives and this year was the first time that the action figure came on a blister pack card. The figure this year was Daredevil in his original costume. It looks amazing, however, all my other figures from Marvel Unlimited came in plastic bags and are on display. I don’t have much room left in my office to display anything. So, this will be socked away for safekeeping and maybe selling at a later date.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01626 I was sent the second wave of Playmobil Naruto Shippuden figures for free to review. Opinions are my own. I am a big fan of how Playmobil has been taking on new licenses and creating figures that have great detail while still retaining that Playmobil essence. The Naruto figures from Wave one were great and these second wave of figures are also very nice. I took them out today on a photo shoot in my back yard trying to capture each one in a different way. Each figure is $7.99 and can be found on the Playmobil website for purchase. These each from with 5-8 accessories specific to their character. You can read about each one below. Naruto Sage of the Six Paths Mode Naruto Sage of the Six Paths Mode Item Number: 71100 As a heightened state of Sage Mode, Naruto’s jutsu are augmented with larger amounts of natural energy and the Six paths power to make them stronger. Join the sympathetic Naruto Uzumaki on his adventurous journey to become Hokage. The PLAYMOBIL se...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01625 Tonight Eva helped Andy work on a Dungeons and Dragons character. Andy has a friend at Jr. Krav who plays D & D and he invited Andy to play in his campaign. Andy went to Eva for help creating their character. It was really nice to see the two of them working on the character together after dinner. Today was the last day of school for both kids. I picked up Eva and some of her friends and drove them over to get Boba Tea. They then hung out at the house for a while afterwards. She has a great group of kids that she has become friends with this year. I took Eva’s friends home and then we went to Jr. Krav. Andy has a friend there named Isaac and Isaac partners with Andy often. They have fun together in class and are able to talk about a bunch of things that they are interested in. Dungeons and Dragons is one of those things and this has gotten Andy very excited. So, I am glad that today would end on a positive note. On the opposite end we had Andy’s last da...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01624 I was grilling tonight when it started to rain. This very little bird was on the patio table with too much water on their wings. It hadn’t rained that much, though but it was a little guy so it was stuck. I was sitting at the table and trying very hard not to make much noise or encroach on the bird. It eventually made its way up the back of a chair and then another little bird came down to check on it. I turned my back and they flew away. I had thought that it had fallen but luckily it did not.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01623 I think that today was the first day I could actually read the words on my black belt certificate without tearing up. I decided that I would make sure that this certificate would be framed expertly so I went to The Preservation Framer and picked out what I would like my frame to look like. The frame is thin and black with a black matte but also a thin line of a red matte. I wanted the red to remind me that I was a red/black belt for so long and that not only to stay humble in my further pursuits but also to remember that difficult things take time. Things worth doing take time.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01622 Andy was back baking again today. Andy decided that they would make 3 types of squares for their teachers. Blueberry, Strawberry and Lime because we did not have a lemon and when dad went to the store his phone was on silent. Andy is learning patience with their baking, just not that quickly. The blueberry squares are not pictured because Andy attempted to take them out of the pan too soon. Those squares became filler for a future ice cream base that Andy will make, but the strawberry and lime ones survived.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01621 To celebrate earning my black belt yesterday the one thing that I really wanted to do was have a celebration meal at Firefly’s BBQ. I love that place! I went there a few years back and had the most incredible meal. It is one of my favorite places and it can be expensive so only for very special occasions. We went to 11 am Mass and then drove to Marlboro. We made a reservation on the way to get seats out on the patio. They have a cornhole pitch out there and Andy made use of it after our meal. The item that I enjoy most is the candied bacon with the sunny side up egg. I am not normally a fan of the sunny side up egg but there is something about the pairing of these foods that is beyond compare. They had burnt ends this time around and while they were good, I’ve had better there. These were not as melt in your mouth as I’ve had in the past. Andy and I went in to get all the BBQ sauces and while we were there Andy found a Pickle flavored Hot Sauce. So, I gave ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01620 “Delay is not denial.” Back in November of 2021 my Sensei told me that as I was dismissed from Black Belt Boot Camp after my pre-test. My photo of the day from yesterday was from last night at my last Boot Camp. My Red/Black belt has 21 stripes on it. Stripes can be earned each month at progress checks. So that means for 21 months I was an advanced red belt or red/black. But that isn’t my whole journey. I started at America’s Best Defense in January of 2019. That is when my Krav Maga journey began. My decision to pursue a black belt came on May 23, 2019 – 5 months into training. It has been a very long road leading to today where I passed my Black Belt Test. I’ve never been the most athletic or physical guy. When I started Krav I could barely do 10 pushups in a row without hitting my knees. My blood sugars were not managed well and I barely cared. Now after nearly 5 years of training I can do 70 push ups in a row with a goal of 100 by age 50. My blood sug...