BenSpark Family Adventures

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01702 Today was Eva’s first day of school. It was only a half day for the school to take school pictures and have the kids get their lockers and go over their schedules. Eva had a nice first day and after school she and three of her friends went to one friend’s grandmother’s house for a pool party. they hung out, had pizza and a great time together. This morning I had my first stripe test as a black belt and it was rough. It is so easy to fall out of shape after a month off from classes. I’ve got a lot of work to do to get back into it and not suck wind every class. But I was able to get my first stripe on my black belt so that was good. It was nice to see some other friends back as well.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01701 Andy decided that they would no longer like to have a bunk bed so took it apart and listed it on Facebook Marketplace. I have a deep dislike of Facebook marketplace because You get many inquiries and things take a long time to pan out. I got a message today from a guy who was really interested in the bunk bed and messaged me all through the day. The time that he was going to come kept getting pushed back. He was supposed to come between 4 and 5 and even messaged me that he was on the way. He never showed. I messaged him around 6:30 and he never looked at the message. I can’t help thinking that this guy was simply messing with me all day long for kicks. This is why I dislike Facebook marketplace.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01700 today was the first day of school for Allison and Andy. This was also the first time any of the kids were in a public school. This will be a whole new experience for us this year. While it will be different Andy is quite excited for the change. This year Andy will be taking band and starting to learn the trombone. Andy will have gym a couple of times a week and they have the option of free school lunches each day. Allison is back to school today with the kids this week. her school has half days for the next few days and Friday and Monday off. Andy has 3 full days of school and is getting right into it. I picked Andy up from school today, Allison and I had dropped Andy off together. When Andy got out of the car they saw a kid from karate that recognized Andy. So, it was nice that Andy was greeted almost immediately. We learned that there are a few kids that Andy knows from karate. This is nice to know and will help ease the transition a bit. While Allison an...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01699 Life in an old house is interesting. We’ve been having plumbing issues since back in May when the house trap pipe overflowed with sewage. My dad suggested that we tear up the basement around where the pipe was to replace it. Today we tore up that space. We were also running snakes through the pipes because in addition to the pipes backing up at the trap they now seem to have a clog between the washing machine and the trap. About 30 across the basement floor. We snakes with a hand snake and then with a larger one. Neither worked to clear the clog despite the snake going all the way from the washing machine area to the area where I am standing above the house trap. So the snake got through but once that was removed and we ran some water things got filled back up. Tomorrow we are trying the largest size snake. Lets hope that works.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01697 I say not again but this time it is something new. A whole new adventure in suck. This morning Allison had me come to the basement because the floor around the washing machine was all wet. There was water all under the washing machine and around the utility sink and even on a file cabinet that we have propped up with a dehumidifier on top so it can drain out into the sink. I noticed some water in the sink and it would not drain so I hit it with the plunger. water came spilling out over the white pipe to the left of the sink. I wanted to see what exactly was happening. I went to the pipe in the back of the house that has the house trap and I ran a snake through that. I ran into no blockages and then I ran it back toward the house away from the street and there also no blockage that I could get. So the problem appears to be happening close to where all the pipes converge near the laundry. The new pipes that were recently installed when the bathroom was put in...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01696 I occasionally get some great mailers from General Mills and their family of brands. We received a back to school box of treats that not only had treats for the people in the house but also the dogs in the house. However, we do not have dogs so I did give my sister the free samples of the Blue Buffalo treats that were sent to me. We kept the Cascadian Farm samples and are looking forward to trying those. I am looking forward to the granola. It was nice that both Blue Buffalo and Cascadian Farm thought of me to send me some great free samples.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01695 About a week ago I got a text out of the blue from my former LEGO show partner, Brian. He was looing to see if I still had a hat that I used to have when I filmed with him. I did not but I did still have one of his LEGO dinosaurs. He had given it to me so that I could make an animation with it. that never happened but the dino has been living in my office for the past few years. I told him that I still had it and we set up a time for me to bring it back over to him. Tonight I went to see Brian and give him back his dinosaur. It was pleasant enough but awkward as expected.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01694 This morning we toured Andy’s new school. Andy will be starting middle school here and this will be our first time in public school. I personally never attended any form of public school except for maybe Kindergarten? Pre-school was private, maybe. But from 1st grade to senior year of college and then for the next 5 years after that I was in a private Catholic School. It worked for me and so I figured that it would work for my kids as well. Things do not always work out the way you want them to work. A small Catholic school was not the place for Andy. Some of Andy’s classmates saw to that. We had decided at the end of last year that we were going to move Andy to a new school. Today we got to see inside the school for the first time. the tour was really nice and the school looks like it offers quite a bit for the students. I like how the classrooms are set up and they have a large gym and cafetorium. Kids and get free school lunches, too. that will help out ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01693 I got my copy of Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair in the mail today. I’ve been following the author, Mercury Stardust on Tik Tok for some time now and I really enjoy her content and wanted to support her first book. While I don’t really need a book like this it is rather helpful to have on hand for some of the little things around the house that may need fixing. There are some really good tips in here. I hope that the book does well and that she stays safe and sound on her book tour.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01692 I love the V8 Energy drink that is blueberry pomegranate. It is my favorite of the flavors. Today I ran into Big Lots and discovered that they had a Strawberry Lemonade flavor that was diet. It gave it a try and really liked it. Andy helped me cut back some of the wisteria. I had written get rid of but that stuff is near impossible to get rid of. I did finally remove the giant stump that had been continuing to grow more and more vines. I’m sure that what is left will begin to take up the slack soon. I’m going to try my hardest to get after as many vines as I can but today was a start.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01691 Tonight was the last night for Food Trucks at Capron Park for the Summer. I decided that it was time for a mental health day so I called out to work so I could enjoy this night with the family. We walked over and everyone got $20 to go and purchase their own meals. We got their early enough so that the lines were not too long. Eva went with her tried and true pick of Friskies Fries and their General Tso’s chicken fries. Allison got a lobster roll and I picked up Mexican Street Corn Lobster nachos. They were actually less than her lobster roll but were packed with so much lobster. It was the best thing that I had ever had at the Food Truck event. Andy also went off on their own. Andy had their cell phone and so would text us. Andy took photos of each of the food truck menus so that they could make a decision on what to eat. Although, in the end Andy choose a burger and wasn’t that thrilled with it. Andy did later on go and get some Kona ice with all the red ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01690 I’m back at the old office tonight because the new location for us is undergoing some construction. For my new position we have a whole room being made ready for us to use each weekend. They are installing TVs and a generator. So, hopefully the room will work well for our needs. While wandering the office here I saw this great LEGO set which is essentially a unity flag. I’ve wanted to pick this set up for the kids but it sold out pretty quickly when it first came out. LEGO has been on my mind lately because my old YouTube partner contacted me the other day. He’s been asked to try out for LEGO Masters again. Apparently he got al the way to be an alternate on a pervious season but they have asked him to try out again. That’s pretty cool. I’m going to see him this week and get him one of his LEGO dinosaurs back to him.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01689 I’ve been playing a ton of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and it wasn’t until today that I dug out my old Nintendo amiibos to use in the game. Amiibos can be used in the game to give the main character, Link, some additional items. Apparently some amiibos can also give Link special fabrics for his glider. I do not have all of the Legend of Zelda amiibos out that but I do have quite a few and they did give me some cool stuff in the game.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01688 This morning Andy wanted to make breakfast for everyone. However, they wanted to take everyone’s orders and make individual styled breakfasts. Last night I took Andy to Shaws and we bought everything that they would need to make a very big breakfast. We got bacon, ham, and sausage. We also got two types of cheese and a whole bunch of fruit. This morning I helped out by making all the pancakes and putting them in the oven to stay warm. I tried many times to explain to Andy that breakfasts to order wasn’t going to work very well because you want everyone to have their meals at the same time and have everything hot and ready. Andy is very much in their own head about things and wanted it to work a certain way. Andy made a menu and had their cousins take orders. I tried to mitigate any possible breakdowns by taking care of bacon, pancakes and sausage. Andy did the eggs and Andy and Dylan made the fruit salad. Overall things went fairly well. Most of the food wa...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01687 The few days that we were on the Cape have not been great for going to the beach but it was nice enough to go for a walk along the water. Allison and I walked this morning and later in the afternoon we took Andy to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem at the Falmouth Cinema Pub. I’d been waiting to see this movie and I really enjoyed it. It was fun and done really well. Some changes made to the story overall but they worked for the Turtles which has always been a tongue in cheek joke. I loved the animation and the voice acting. Great choices on everyone all around.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01686 We went to the Cape today. Allison and Eva went with my mom, Tara, Shelby and Kylie to see Barbie and the guys went to Shipwrecked for dinner. When we got back from dinner the boys hung out on the front porch and played with Dylan’s new speaker. Uncle Erik got that for him. We are so thankful for that choice. When the girls got back from the movie the kids had a dance party with the new speaker.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01685 Andy got a Quest VR headset for Christmas and it has quickly become his favorite activity. We try and limit playtime to 1/2 hour increments. That tends to creep up when we are not strictly paying attention. For the most part the interactions that Andy has on the headset are good. They’re learning to get along with people and work together in different games. There hasn’t been a major meltdown in a while so that is good news. With the bunk bed out of the room and Andy’s room picked up (sort of) they have more space to play.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01684 One of the items that Andy needs for back to school are headphones. Specifically bluetooth headphones. So, I looked on Amazon.com and found an inexpensive pair of them and these have some really nice features for inexpensive headphones. They are over the ear so Andy won’t lose them by having them fall out. They have a indicator light on the case that tells you how much power each headphone has. Mine don’t even have that feature. I’m a bit jealous.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01683 Allison picked up a new bathroom organizer on Amazon. She measured the space and it fits perfectly. It is working really well because it moves things out of the way and also puts the phone up higher so it s not near the sink. We are using the old phone specifically so that it can connect with the shower speaker. We set up Spotify playlists for each us so we can each enjoy our own music in shower.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01682 Andy now has a cell phone. Well, we got Andy a phone because Andy will be at a new school and Allison will not be at the school and we wanted them to have a phone. so, last week Eva and I went to Xfinity and got her a new phone and transferred her old phone to a new number for Andy. Andy will get the phone when school starts. We’ve been setting it up so that it has all the parental controls and such and we have a system in place so that Andy puts the phone aside at night. Andy is always coming up with ideas. The latest idea was to take his phone and walk up to Kimochi to get boba for Allison and Eva. Andy wanted to do this alone. We’re not comfortable with that so Andy and I talked and they would walk and I would walk a ways behind them up to Kimochi. Andy did agreed and today we went to do this. The walk was good. Andy got there and ordered all the drinks. They got a drink for Eva, Allison and themselves. We had discussed what Andy would do to get the drin...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01681 Eva has been very busy with her cosplay recently. She’s used her tail end of the Summer to do work on several different costumes and characters. She’s working on these gills for one of her characters. Eva is incredibly creative and I love how hard she works on these projects.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01680 Last year Andy won some passes to Central rock Gym. they have a few locations about the same distance from us but in opposite directions. We decided to give the facility in Randolph a try today. We drove there for when they opened and go there and found out that they were only open to members of the gym until 2pm. It was 10am. Rather than wait around I called the location in Warwick to make sure that they were open to the public when they opened at 11am. They were so we drove there. Along the way we stopped to grab some lunch at Sonic in Rhode Island. Andy enjoyed lunch and then was ready to get to the Central Rock Gym. We got there and filled out the necessary paperwork so that Andy could climb. Andy started out bouldering and that is the photo that I captured for today. Andy was fairly high up and hung for that one hold for a few moments before getting their feet under them and going up further. I was pretty impressed with Andy’s strength as they climbed....

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01679 Tonight Andy and Allison made some Sesame Chicken for dinner. This was from a recipe that was part of the book Andy got from Johnson and Wales camp. I have to say it was really tasty. Andy also wanted to have grilled Watermelon. I think that in the future we do that a little bit differently. We’ll also probably use some pre-made chicken tenders in the future with the sauce from the cookbook. that sauce was great.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01678 I took my new Blendjet for a spin today. Andy made some lemonade and we had a ton of blueberries so I blended them up with some ice. Was pretty tasty. I’ve got to come up with some more things to blend int he future.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01677 I got Allison a Blendjet a while back and she really likes being able to make individual smoothies while at work. I saw that Blendjet was making two special edition Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles designs and I decided that I would get a Blendjet of my own. This set even came with a larger size but it is not branded like the regular size one I have. We’ll have to see if I’d rather have something that looks good or something that holds a bit more liquid.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01676 I was leaving for work tonight and saw the smallest bunny I had ever seen. I don’t even know if this photo does it justice as far as how small it was, but those are leaves from the rhododendron bushes next to it and they couldn’t have been much bigger than those.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01675 Andy had their last day of cooking camp today. We got to come for the end of the day for a parent’s reception. They did things a bit differently this year and had a fantastic spread of all the pastries and other things that the kids made this week. There were scones, hand pies, pop tarts, gummi candy, fruit roll ups, rolls and butter, cups of sand and dirt and much more. I love how the chefs arranged each board in front of each pair of kids. Andy and heir partner, Maisey did some great things this week and we got to try them all. We also got to see the teen’s food items and I was very impressed that one of the things that they got to do was cake decorating. Andy will love that when they go to the teen camp. Andy has already expressed that they want to continue to attend this camp next Summer and beyond. I think it is a fantastic experience for Andy and it is something that they really enjoy. You cannot deny that smile of pride in the photo.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01674 At camp today Andy made some sand art. Andy made two sand art spheres that represented two characters from the cartoon, Bluey. they are of the mom and dad, Chili and Bandit. Chili is tan and Bandit is blue. The show is one that I really enjoy watching despite it being a kids show for really little kids. There is a lot for adults to enjoy there as well. Tonight we watched the movie Flamin’ Hot which was a fictionalized account of Richard Montañez and how he invented the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. I love an underdog story and this one was fun. I picked up some Flamin’ hot Cheetos for all of us to enjoy. It was fun and the movie was entertaining.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01673 Andy decided that they no longer wished to have a bunk bed in their room. Andy has been sleeping on the floor and moved the mattress there to sleep. Today I took apart the bunk bed so that we could get it out of the room and hopefully sell it. Andy was very surprised and excited to see that it was gone when they got home from camp today.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01672 Yesterday we went to Iggy’s and came home with a dozen of their doughboys. Well, about 6 of them made it to today and we decided to use them to have a dough boy sundae. I warmed up the doughboys in the air fryer and then we covered them with ice cream. They were definitely not as good as they were yesterday but they were good enough for a sundae. I don’t think the kids liked them that much, though. They ate the ice cream and tossed the doughboys.