BenSpark Family Adventures

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01448 Each year we have several Christmas traditions that we do. This year was a little different with our upcoming trip to Florida. A couple of things did not end up happening. the kids trees never got fully decorated. We didn’t end up going to La Salette or our post Christmas Lights meal at Bliss. We did, however, get the kids ornaments for their tree. this year they were hand made. Andy’s was made from stickers from Rock Spot where he does his rock climbing. I found a funky carabiner to use and Eva helped me put everything together. Allison made Eva a pig with a crown to symbolize Technoblade, the Minecraft streamer that Eva enjoys and who passed away this year. She was overjoyed to receive this ornament. It would have been nice to have had those trees decorated but hopefully we’ll get that done next year.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01447 I’ve been going to a Sports chiropractor for my shoulder and I have to ice that shoulder 3 times a day. So, I ordered some reusable ice packs that are somewhat flexible and small enough not to take up much room in the freezer. I have four of them so that I can put one on my lower back, two behind my head and one on my right shoulder. Three times a day is the goal. I do not think I’ve hit that goal, though. I do manage to get at least one in each day. Working on it.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01446 We celebrated Christmas early this year because we are doing things a bit differently in 2022. We are heading to Florida for the holiday and so in order to see everyone on my side of the family we had our Christmas Eve Chicken Stew dinner with Mem and Grandfather, Tara and Erik, Shelby and Tim and the cousins Dylan and Kylie. We hosted everyone at our house for the afternoon. Andy learned how to make meat roses from the pepperoni, salami and more salami from a YouTube Short and he did an excellent job setting up the Charcuterie board. He worked really hard at it, too. His first one did not come out right because the glass was too big, however he redid it in a wine flute and got his ideal flower. Allison made her Christmas time famous chicken stew that is something that everyone in the family can enjoy. There were gluten free rolls for our gluten free family members and Pillsbury biscuits for everyone else. We were able to all fit around the dining room tabl...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01445 One of Allison’s favorite Christmas decorations is a Mistletoe of Mrs. and Mrs. Claus. This was her grandmothers and it is something that is very old and very delicate. It hangs between the dining room and the hallway. There was one year where we never took it down. While Andy is on the mend I am starting to feel a bit run down but am keeping any sickness at bay. This is the time of year when sickness tends to catch me, though. Changing up any schedules and routines. Slowing down allows the sickness to catch up. Let’s hope I get through with very little catching me.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01444 This year we got a new Christmas tree. We bought an artificial tree that was 9 feet tall. With a much larger base than previous trees the tree skirt that we already had was much too small to cover the base. Because of this Allison found an alternative to a tree skirt for our tree and it is a tree collar box. I had never heard of these before but I like the look of it and am glad that we got it. We have another one for the front porch tree, but that one looks different and we haven’t put that together yet because it was pouring out there tonight.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01443 I love driving remote control cars and this year I’ve gotten my hands on some really fast ones. Bezgar sent me their HM163 for free this Summer and I was blown away by it. Now I have the received the Bezgar HP161S for free to review, too. The Bezgar HP161S is a 38MPH FAST BRUSHLESS RC CAR. I cannot wait to get this out on the road and off-road as well. However, the weather has not been compliant around here and I will have to wait. I went and watched some videos from other creators and this is one fast RC truck. I also became an affiliate for Bezgar and I can definitely recommend their products because they are so much fun to play with. Be on the lookout for my video as soon as I can get outside.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01442 For the past couple of years we’ve put an artificial Christmas tree out on the front porch. This year we added a Moravian star to the mix. I have it hanging up on some hooks in front of the tree. I had had it connected to the tree and just hinging but the wires were showing and I couldn’t have that so I got another extension cord and ran it around the upper inside of the porch ceiling and down one of the posts to then plug it in. It looks really nice from the street when it is all lit up.