BenSpark Family Adventures

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02032 I took the kids down to the Cape for a night and my dad’s hydrangeas are still looking good but it is the end of the season on these flowers. Dad has so many other flowers around the yard and they are doing well. Sunflowers, lillies and more. We enjoyed a nice time on the Cape and had a cookout with steak and swordfish. Andy and I went to the beach and played in the really rough waves.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02031 Mimi and Dano have been staying with us the past few days. They headed out for home this morning. But, before they went we had to get a photo of them with the kids. In the afternoon Andy and I went to Best Buy to pick up a TV. Andy is getting a new computer and instead of a monitor we’re going with a TV instead. This way Andy can use it to watch TV and also use it for their new computer. I found a great deal on Amazon for a gaming computer. Andy had some money and bought it themselves. We’re excited for it to arrive on Thursday.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02030 Our roads are being worked on for the foreseeable future. Eversource is putting in new gas lines in on both our streets. They started with Mary street and then will move on to Summer Street. Our house is right on the corner on the two streets and so we are the set up point for all the equipment. However, they did not leave me the keys so I could do some night work.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02029 Tonight Eva showed us all of her photos and textiles from her time at SCAD. Her photograph class was all about taking photos without a camera. She did some amazing things and was so excited telling us all about her class. She enjoyed Textiles, too but photography was definitely the class that she loved. It was great to hear all about how much she enjoyed her week in Georgia.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02028 Eva is coming home from Georgia today with Auntie Tara and Uncle Erik. Their dog, Lexie has been boarded for the past week and they needed me to go and pick her up. So, this afternoon I went and picked her up from her boarding place and brought her home with me so she could be ready for them when they return. Lexie was pretty chill with me. We watched some TV on the couch and the only barked a couple of times at random things going by. When Allison and Andy got home they took over watching Lexie until Allison went to pick up everyone at the airport. Eva is home now but I haven’t been able to see her yet because I had to go into the office.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02027 Today was Andy’s last day at Johnson and Wales Culinary Camp. This was Andy’s third time at the camp and it is something that they enjoy very much. Each year the menu changes and Andy learns new things to create. We have all the menu books from past years so that Andy can make us some of the creations that they made during the week. Today was American food and I was disappointed to learn that the lunch they made wasn’t hot when they got to eat it so Andy was not that impressed with a Philly Cheesesteak. I know that Andy would love on if they had a good one. Today parents were invited to a litte reception where we could try out the baked good that the kids made all week long. There were all sorts of tasty treats there. We tried quite a few of them. After the reception we took a few photos with Andy and then headed home to go to Weatherlaines for dinner before I headed to the office for work.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02026 I went to see Deadpool and Wolverine today because I was not going to let spoilers happen to me with this movie. I knew that there would be a lot of surprises and some may even be unspoiled. I was right to go and see it as soon as it arrived at the theater. There was so much in this movie and so many cameos and surprises. I loved it. I laughed like crazy and had a great time. there was a time when I used to go to Disney and get to interview the actors of Marvel movies. I haven’t done that in many years now. I hadn’t been as excited for Marvel movies like I had been either but I knew that this one was going to be the one I had to see on day one. I really enjoyed the other Deadpool movies and Hugh Jackman has always been a great Wolverine. Seeing these two characters together was awesome! Can’t say much more about it but it was a very funny movie and I look forward to what Marvel puts out next and whether or not this movie will have an impact on that, storywi...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02025 With Allison’s parents arriving tomorrow we have been in full scale cleaning mode. While cleaning is occuring there is also some reorganizing happening. Allison cleared out one of the shelves in the entertainment center and decided that we should place all the components and game systems in those shelves. I got out my power drill and made a hole in the back of the entertainment center and rerouted all the wires and put all the components on the shelves. Luckily everything fit and it looks much neater. Now there is only one set of wires that is coming down in the middle of the TV but we can put something in front of that to block it.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02024 We got spoiled while being down the Cape. My parents filled the freezers with different ice cream flavors. When we got home we had none. So, I ordered two different flavors from Munroe Dairy. Allison ordered 3 flavors from Shaws. We did not know that each was ordering ice cream. I take care of the Munroe orders and she takes care of Shaws. Now we have a ton of ice cream, hopefully it will last the rest of the Summer.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02023 Andy started their third time at Johnson and Wales culinary kids camp today. Andy has attended the past two years and loves going there for this week each Summer. Attending is often a highlight of the summer for Andy. This week they will be making Indian, French, Italian, Latin and American food and desserts. On Friday we can attend a little reception and get to try all the desserts that they made during the week. Today is Indian food. When I picked Andy up at the end of the day they said that Naan was what they liked best and since Andy made the Naan they know how to make it for us at home.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02022 We drove up to Portsmouth New Hampshire today to visit with my Borther-In-Law and his family as well as my Mother and Father-In-Law. We were there to get together to celebrate my Father-In-Law’s 70th birthday. He doesn’t turn 70 for another 2 months but they are up visiting and this worked out as the best time to do it. Unfortunately, Eva was missing because she is off in Georgia at The Savannah College of Art and Design. They made it there safely and are having fun. We drove up and hung around at the house for a while and then we went to lunch at the York River Landing restaurant. The food there was excellent. Allison and I split a fisherman’s platter and it was so good. Andy got a big burger and my nephew helped Dano polish off another fisherman’s platter. After we aste we went back to the house for a while and enjoyed some ice cream cake from Carvel.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02021 Eva is bound for Savannah Georgia today with her Auntie Tara and Uncle Erik. They set Eva up with a week at Savannah College of Art and Design. She’ll be there studying photography and textiles for the week. This is her first sleep away experience where she’ll have a roommate and will be all on her own. Granted, Tara and Erik will be 4 miles down the road but Eva will be on her own in the program. I’m very excited for her. I was worried that her flight would be cancelled after everything that happened yesterday with the Microsoft outage but her flight was delayed a few hours and they got there, eventually around 10pm. On the homefront we have another new bathroom at our house. Well, this is an open air one on the corner. For the next few weeks both streets near us are having the gas lines changed. So we’ll have street closures all for a while. And we have this port-a-potty on our corner.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02020 Today was the last day of Science School for 2024. Andy had a fantastic time in ichthyology and wants to do that one again. There was an open house during the last 15 minutes of class. There wasn’t much for us to see but we went to see anyway. Mom and Dad went, too. andy showed us the fish they caught and the new fishing poles that they used during the session. I took Andy home right after class was over. I had to get back and try to get some sleep. We stopped off at McDonald’s to get some lunch and then got home to find that the road was closed because the gas line was being worked on. I could barely get into the driveway because there was a large machine in the way. Apparently, they had to stop because of the worldwide Microsoft outage that was going on. So they filled the holes back in to start again on Monday.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02019 Today was our last full day on The Cape. Those three weeks flew by. We enjoyed some beach time early in the day with my Aunt and cousins. Aunt Cindy and Uncle Wayne came down for a few hours with their grandkids, my cousin Erin’s kids and we played with them at home and over at the beach. I gave Danny some old lego like bricks that I had from when I was really little. He loved them and created some cool stuff with them. Allison and I cleaned out our closet and had a bunch of stuff for Savers and that was going to go there but I gave it to Danny instead. He’s a nut about LEGO. Tonight we went to the end of the session picnic in Woods Hole. I thought that we were going to skip it but the kids wanted to go. andy spend a lot of time playing Volleyball with other kids. Eva eventually talked with her two TAs from her class. Auntie Tara pushed her along to go talk. then they had a great conversation. We got Paul’s pizza on the way over and enjoyed that together. When we...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02018 We got Mom and Dad a slide scanner for their anniversary. They have a bunch of old slides and this would be a great project to get them all digitized to keep. Many of the slides are from our great-uncle Richard. He took so many photos. My parents have all of them and so the slide scanner will be very useful to help them clear things out. Then they can get rid of the physical slides that are taking up space. The slide scanner is hooked up to Dad’s new computer. That arrived today and I got everything set up so that he can start using it right away. I hope I didn’t miss anything.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02017 Tonight we went to a Falmouth Commodores Game. Well, I went with Dad, Andy, Dylan and Kylie. Allison and Eva went with Tara, shelby and Mom to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Mom and Shelby swung by the game later but Allison, eva and Tara went home. We were hosted at the game by a local real estate group that we know from back in North Attleboro. They provided us with sandwiches, chips, drinks and some snacks to eat while we enjoyed the game. The kids ate quickly and then went off to play. they were back quickly asking if they could go to Dairy Queen across the street. dad sent them over with a gift card and some money. They came back with actual change and great big ice creams. Andy even got a banana split which he proceeded to eat right behind me. After the ice cream they were off and playing again. Dylan and Kylie found their friends. Andy went and played gaga-ball with a group of random kids. Later on one kid saw Andy and gave them a fist bump. That w...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02016 Allison and Eva came back yesterday afternoon. This morning we went for a walk along Great Bay. the whole walk that we usually do is finally back open. Part of the walk had fallen and the DPW had to rebuild some of the area. They did a pretty nice job so we were able to do the full 3 miles that we like to do mornings on The Cape. Tonight I grilled up some chicken quarters and a couple of chicken breasts. We had a nice meal on the back patio. Allison made Dad a new sign for his lilies.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02015 Andy and I went to the Falmouth Car show today. My dad is the president of the club and he was there setting things up and cleaning up afterwards. We popped over for a little time at the show. We had lunch from the food truck there. Good hot dogs, thanks’ dad. Then I took Andy to The Bridge for ice cream Nor’Easters. That is The Bridge’s fancy name for a blizzard like ice cream treat. I got heath and Andy did raspberry sauce and cherries. Andy’s tastes are getting even more varied these days.

 Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02014 It was a rainy day here on the Cape but Andy and I ventured back to Dennis to The Doghouse to enjoy some great hot dogs there. Andy went with the West Dennis Beach Dog and that had Mac and Cheese, Onions rings and bacon bits. We split the Dynamite fries, minus the sriracha sauce. I got a split dog with pickles onions and mustard. Didn’t go too crazy. It is a good thing we split the fires since we could not finish them anyway. I think I barely sat down and Andy was done. He inhaled that thing! On the way back from Dennis we stopped in Mashpee to meet up with Tara, Erik Shelby, Tim, Dylan and Kylie to do some bowling. We had a great time playing at the lanes there at Mashpee Commons. It is a nice place. This is the first time I had ever played at a place where the pins were on strings. It made the physics of the game a little weird. I didn’t do too hot until the very last three frames I played. All strikes. The game timed out before I could bowl one more time....

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02013 The parts for Dad’s computer came today. Unfortunately, this did not fix the problem. The computer refuses to turn on at all even after replacing the battery and more. I think it was the salt air that did it. Shorted things out. But I tooko ut the hard drive, battery and the ram chip because that can be used in other computers. I’ll recycle the rest of it. so now it is time to order a new one and I’ll be setting that up next week. Poor Eva got COVID from science school. This really sucks because she was scheduled to go to a birthday party for her friend Ollie on Saturday. Unfortunately she’ll be just resting back at home. I took the weekend off so I’m staying on the Cape with Andy. Eva will get to spend some quality time with her cat, though.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02012 Today we did a guy’s night/ girl’s night. The ladies went out to see the movie Inside Out 2 and the guys went to Shipwrecked for dinner. I split a pizza with Dylan while Andy inhaled a massive burger. We also split some calamari which was done really well there. We had a nice night. The girls had a nice night too. Eva, however, wasn’t feeling well so I picked up some soup for her because she did not feel like having anything at the Cinema Pub. That tells you that she’s not feeling well because she loves their food.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02011 All around the Cape House my dad has planted many lilies. He has a bunch of varieties and is trying to keep track of all of them and where they are located. I helped out by taking some photos of what he has around the yard. He’s going to make a chart and map of which ones are where so that he can move some around to fill in the spots and colors. Allison ws making some signs on her cricut and he’ll use them in the garden, too. dad also has a table where he sells some lilies to raise donations for Tommy’s Place. I took the photos and then set them to be shared with my dad so he could see them on his computer. Unfortunately his computer died. So we ordered a battery and another item to try and get it running again.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02010 This morning Allison and I went for a walk along Great Bay. We did about a mile and then turned around. A Lot of the pathway is washed out at this point. I have not seen any washed out areas myself, I just know about them because we can’t get to them because there are blocks to keep people from walking on them. I’m not sure when it happened but it stinks because that was our favorite place to walk while here on The Cape. It is so pretty along that walk. I noticed that there were some cranes in the water and there were kayaks on shore and it looked very Cape Cod so I stopped to take the photo. It was an overcast day so we were not going to go to the beach. So, after picking Andy up from Science School I decided to take them to Dennis the Doghouse, a hot dog place that I had heard of on Tik Tok. Unfortunately I did not find out until we pulled up to the empty parking lot that they were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So, we started back to home and we saw a food tr...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02009 We were at the beach this afternoon and I noticed a bird that did not look familiar. It looked like a duck but the coloring was wrong. It had the coloring of a seagull but was not moving about like a seagull at all. It ended up that this was a common eider which is sort of a sea duck. We crept over to it to take some photos and not disturb it. While we were watching it a guy was running along doing his workout on the beach. He must work out on the beach all the time because he has definitely white but his skin color was a deep mahogany color like he’d been in the sun since 1975. He then jumped from rock to rock while I said “Parkour!” to Allison. If you don’t know that reference just google “Parkour and The Office” and you’ll see.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02008 About a month ago I picked up this LEGO Burger Truck to build some night when I had downtime at work. I was home tonight and completed the work on a project so I took a little time and built the truck. It was a pretty simple build in two parts. The truck itself and the Burger stand that can either go on the truck or be offloaded from the truck to a stationary place. It would be pretty cool to have a food truck like that serving burgers all over the place. Especially one that looks like a burger. That would really attract people to the truck.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02007 I was in Target today and saw that they had this Optimus Prime playset on clearance. It is a micro machines playset and it comes with a Tracks car to use in the playset. I’d love to pick up a few more of these to add to my Transformers collection. I know that they also have a bumblebee playset on clearance but it is still a bit high for my liking. It does look good, though. I might be able to find a few more of the cars on clearance online. The guy who used to do the Micro Machines commercials was the voice of the Transformer Blurr in the show and movie so this comes full circle.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02006 We’ve been having a hell of a time with drain flies. We’ve been putting things down the drains to try and kill them but they just keep coming. So, on Monday before I left for the Cape I bought some ZEVO electric Fly traps. I came back for the weekend to work and checked the traps. This is the one from the basement. It has really been doing its job.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02005 Today was the Fourth of July. Andy and I went paddle boarding this morning. It was a bit too windy so it was tough to paddle. We’ll have to do it again in the next few weeks. In the afternoon we went to the beach for a bit. It was packed to the gills with people everywhere. We had a cook out for dinner and then we watched the fireworks from the front porch. We had a very good view from the porch and the fireworks this year were excellent. there was a very heavy police presence and so it was pretty orderly overall. A good year for the fourth this year.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02004 Dad has a bunch of bird feeders and flowers in the backyard of the Cape House. I was running between the house and the garage and I saw this Cardinal flying around and then it stopped and landed on one of the bird feeders. I had to move slowly to get the photo, it was very jumpy. It has been really nice down here. We went to the beach for a good long time today. Poor Andy got their first sunburn and it has been pretty painful. Andy burned the tops of both their feet. The sunset tonight was very nice. We’re getting ready for a great Fourth of July.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02003 Tonight was Open House for Science School. We got to meet the kids’ teachers and visit the school. Andy’s teacher was very enthusiastic and excited about teaching the kids. He wants to teach the kids to be responsible fishermen and women. The kids will go fishing each day and so far they are having a great time of it. Eva’s teacher basically just started talking and never even introduced themselves. It was a bit funny. He was very enthusiastic as well. Eva’s class is Earth Science and they are learning some cool things. It also looks like there won’t be any field trips where we need to drive. We saw these ducks on the way back to the car after the Open House. This was along the Woods Hole Harbor where we take our yearly photos. After the Open House we went to Taco Blanco for dinner. We ended up ordering and then taking it home to eat. It was really good food.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02002 I headed down to the Cape today after a weekend of work. Allison and the kids went down yesterday so that the kids could do Science School right off the bat today. The kids had a good day at Science School and they had fun there. I was glad to get to the Cape and enjoy the nice weather and cooler temps.