BenSpark Family Adventures

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02375 Tonight I went with Allison and Eva to Folk Dancing in Woods Hole. I went because Eva said that she would be jumping off the drawbridge tonight. That is what the Science School TAs do after Folk Dancing and when the bridge attendant leaves for the night. I did dance a little bit tonight, did two songs and then it just got so crowded that I couldn’t stay inside the event. I had to get outside for fresh air. I also took a walk around the area. Around 9pm the bridge was filled with kids all excited to jump. Eva and her friends also got up there and did their jumps, too. However, I did not get a good shot of her actually jumping but did get one of everyone on the bridge. Eva has really branched outside of her comfort zone this year.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02372 Tonight was another picnic in the park with food trucks at Capron park. We walked over early and then went off to get our own food and then gathered back up to enjoy our meal. I picked up some brisket birria tacos. Allison got a shredded brisket sandwich. Andy opted for some loaded mac and cheese fries and some chicken parm. Eva was happy because she could have Friskies Fries. She gets the General’s chicken fries. After dinner Andy got some chocolate covered strawberries and Allison got a churro and ice cream. I had one of the strawberries and a bite of the churro. That spiked my sugar up a bit. Not too crazy but a bit. It came back down pretty easily, too.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02344 This weekend for Sly Fox we were joined by my parents. We celebrated their Anniversary, Dad’s Birthday and Father’s Day all together. Allison picked up some burgers from Chartley. The play went very well and I got to do my actual role this time around. One week ago when I filled in for the sick Abner Truckle. Everyone enjoyed the show. Andy helped with Concessions and also hung out in the light booth to learn a bit from Doug. We had a very nice afternoon.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02338 That night was the METG Musical theater awards. This is a really big deal event. It is like the Tonys for high school and middle school musical theater. Bishop Feehan High School was nominated for 7 awards tonight and Eva was up for Best Costume Design. The event was at Lawrence high School in Lawrence, MA. We picked up Eva’s friend Ollie and headed up there a little after 4pm. We wanted to make sure that we got there early enough and also make sure that we could have dinner before the event. We went to a burger joint that Allison found through Phantom Gourmet. It was called BE/EZ and was about 6 miles from the school. After dinner we went over to the school to get our seats. Eva and Allison and Ollie sat up front with the nominees and Andy and I sat un the upper orchestra. We had great seats. The theater at the high school is huge. Lawrence High School performed two major musicals this year. Miss Saigon and In The Heights. They were phenomenal when they performe...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02267 One of the family Christmas gifts was tickets to see comedian Josh Johnson at The Vets tonight. We had dinner at the Burgundian and then headed to Providence to see the show. We discovered Josh Johnson on Tik Tok and he quickly became a comedian that we could all enjoy together. Our seats were way way at the top of the building, in Balcony 2. Still, they were decent seats to see the show. At least until someone sat in front of me with a Cinder Block for a head. I spent the rest of the evening weaving from side to side in order to see the show. Such a big head. I also spent lots of time watching the kids’ reactions. Andy loved the show and was cackling like crazy many times. Eva also laughed but much more controlled. We all enjoyed the show and look forward to more comedy shows together in the future.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02187 On our last full day in Florida we drove out to Crystal Prings to a spcial preserve to observe the manatees. This place had a bunch of manatees all floating around in a protected space. there was also an option to swim with them. People had snorkels and pool floats to swim near the manatees. It was interesting and a nice place to walk. after visiting the manatees we drove to Ocala and had an early dinner at Harry’s which was a New Orleans themed place and the food was excellent. I got shrimp and grits and it was the best meal of the trip. We followed that up by going to the giant candy store next door to get a couple of things. This place had so many different candy options. It was huge! when we got home we found out that the flight for tomorrow was cancelled. We were supposed to leave at 10:40am but then we got rescheduled to the 1:15pm flight. The problem was Baltimore. We were scheduled to fly through Baltimore but they were getting slammed with snow and...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02186 For our final day at Disney we went to The Magic Kingdom. Most of the family was going there and were going to take photos with the bride and groom near the castle but we did not end up doing that. We did, however go to The Haunted Mansion. Eva really wanted to go to that attraction. We also did It’s A Small World and several others. One of the attractions we went on was the Laugh Factory Floor which was a Monsters Inc themed attraction and I got singled out as “that guy”. Every time there was a punchline of a joke they’d put me on screen and say That Guy. It was pretty funny and the kids loved it.they were laughing like crazy. At the end of the show I was given a sticker that said, “I was That Guy at the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor”. So that was fun. We caught up with The bride and groom at the end of the day and had lunch with them. Then we got a bus back tot he hotel and headed back to Dan and Marcia’s. While we were in the park we found more shoulder pals ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02185 Tonight is the wedding reception but for the day we decided to get tickets to go to Hollywood studios because we had never seen Galaxy’s Edge before and I really wanted to see it. We were able to get on one ride, the Smuggler’s Run and that was a decent ride but we could not get anywhere near Rise of the Resistance unless we wanted to start paying extra for special passes. But we explored the park for a bit and went to two attractions. The park is just so cramped. We also saw Muppet’s 3D which is a great little show to see plus there is virtually no wait for it and we were tired and cranky so that was good to do for a bit. We got some lunch and then searched for a special little shoulder pal for Andy. Andy wanted to find the Remy shoulder pal from Ratatouille. We were able to find him in one of the emporiums and Andy wore that for most of the rest of the trip. When we were in Galaxy’s Edge we wanted to get some of the blue milk but found out that it wasn’t ...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02184 Today we drove down to Disney World where we will stay for the next couple of days to celebrate my cousin’s wedding. We checked in to the All Star Music Resort a little after noontime and visited with some family, had some lunch and then got ready to go to Epcot for the Dessert reception that we were having in Italy. This would be a casual reception with tasty treats and access to great views of the fireworks and lights show. We thought that we would hop over to Epcot and then get our park passes at Guest Services and then ride the monorail. Well, we got the park passes pretty easily but then we found out that the monorail was not running from EPCOT at the moment. We debated hopping over tot he transportation center and then getting a monorail but then getting back in time for the reception would become an issue. So we stayed there and waited. It got cold. I had left my sweatshirt at my in-laws in their front hall closet so I only had a t-shirt and I was co...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02183 On our second full day at The Villages we did some shopping and at night went over to one of the town centers for their live music. There was supposed to be vendors there as well but that did not happen. The music was good but it was a bit chilly so we did not stay long. We went home and enjoyed more of the cake from Allison’s birthday.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02178 Today the boys had one adventure while the girls had another. I learned that I had a full day of Personal Time that I had to take or lose by the end of the year so I picked a day where there wasn’t much happening at night at work. We’re still short a person and one other person was going to be out for the weekend. That would leave only two people on and I don’t like taking time when there is a downtime to manage. But, it worked out that nothing was happening so I booked the tickets to aht andy and I could go to Brick Fest Live in Worcester. Brick Fest Live is a LEGO show where people come with their LEGO creations both amature and professional. There are also a bunch of LEGO themed activities to do. I had gone to Philly Brick Fest several years ago when I was doing a LEGO themed YouTube show. That event was really good and I had expected the same sort of thing from today’s show. Today’s show paled in comparison. It was very small and there wasn’t a whole lo...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02176 On the day after Christmas my sister Shelby and her family arrived on the Cape. We opened gifts and enjoyed lunch in the morning and early afternoon. I went on another long walk around the area to get those 10,000 steps in. We’d do some more steps when we went over to Cape Cod Lanes for an afternoon of bowling. Bowling with the whole family was a lot of fun. We had two lanes and enjoyed the mild competition. Everyone had fun playing. Mom and Dad came a little later and watched. I’m glad that we caught our server and asked her to take a photo of all of us together, too. When we arrived back home we hung out and had some pizza for dinner. No movie tonight, just a lot of time on the sun porch. The cousins stayed overnight with Andy and with Eva. Eva wasn’t super thrilled to be sharing her space with her energetic cousin but she made do and they eventually went to sleep. We had a very good day all together.

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02141 Tonight we took the kids to see a one man show called An Iliad. This was an interpretation of Homer’s epic poem. The play was performed by Bill Harley. This man is a singer songwriter that Allison has been following for years. Apparently he had kids shows over the years that Allison had wanted to take our kids to see but the timing never worked. When she saw that he was performing this play she suggested that we go. Both of the kids love Percy Jackson and Greek mythology and they also like theater. We knew that Eva would go for it but wasn’t as convinced that Andy would like it but we got 4 tickets and didn’t give them a choice. Bill Harley’s performance was very powerful. Eva had so many thoughts and feelings on it afterwards. She even found a version of it on YouTube to share with one of her friends so that they could discuss. Andy also enjoyed the performance. It was very good. It blends the tal of Homer’s Iliad with the modern world. Bill’s performance was i...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02107 Tonight we went to see our friend Jack Cappadona perform in Little Shop of Horrors. He was playing the role of the dentist and then had about six other roles. He’s so funny and doing a great job of it. We went and saw him earlier in the week, on Sunday he was playing at the Towne Tavern and we had brunch there and watched him perform. The whole cast did an incredible job. We enjoyed the show very much.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02104 This was the first year in forever that we were not attending King Richard’s Faire. We didn’t get free tickets this year and we got a bit priced out of the event. Eva offered the suggestion of going to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire instead. The prices were better and the drive was about the same. So we got tickets and went down to see what it was all about. It was a nice Ren Faire and Eva had a great time dressed as a pirate. I put my horns on over my hat but that was the extent of me getting dressed up. I kept forgetting they were there and took off my hat only to have them fall off over and over. There were some performers and we watched a couple of shows that were enjoyable. They do not have a big production like KRF does but that is okay. We were keeping everything low key today. When we left I charted our course over to Shady Glen, a restaurant I heard about on Tik Tok. They do something really unique with the cheeseburgers. The burgers have these ...

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02083 On the second day of the Granite State Comicon we hung out at our hotel for the morning because the show did not start until 10am. Luckily we stayed at a place that included breakfast so we had some stuff to enjoy before heading to the con. Today we did a coordinated cosplay. I was Peter B. Parker and Eva was a teenage Mayday Parker. She spent hours styling her wig and Allison spent hours creating her hat. I put together a costume with sweats, a pink robe, spider man shirt and two different shoes. I sort of combined the Peter Parker outfits from the two Spiderverse movies. I did run into a few other people who were wearing the same sort of things. They recognized my costume first. I actually got a few people who recognized my costume yesterday, too. One little boy even stopped us to get our photo. The first thing we did was go to the exhibit hall and get our photos taken by Nerd Caliber again. I liked yesterday’s photos of me much better. I am not sure I liked th...

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02082 today Eva and I drove up to New Hampshire for the Granite State Comicon. This has been our yearly adventure now for several years. Eva loves to do cosplay and she has a group of friends there that she catches up with each year. I am a big nerd and love pop culture and fun stuff like this so I love to go. also, the show was created by some college friends of mine and I enjoy seeing them every year. This year we were both in cosplay each day. Day one we did separate things. I was Bobby Singer from the show Supernatural and Eva was Ray from one of the SMPs that she watches. We made sure that we went to Nerd Caliber and got our photos taken there. We do this every year and they always take such great photos. This was good because I hardly took any photos this year. this was Eva getting her photo taken. Below is the photo that was taken. Photo by Nerd Caliber . I also had my photo taken. I like how this one came out. Photo by Nerd Caliber . We walked around the show f...

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02065 Andy has been going to Rock Spot and rock climbing for about 2 years now. I’ve gone with them almost every time to drop them off and pick them up. Well, there was a deal for 10 sessions this Summer and id decided to buy it so that I was forced to try climbing. The weird thing is that I never used to be afraid of heights as a kid but as I got older it creeped into my mind. I mean, I used to run around on roofs helping my dad with shingling the roofs and stuff. So there was a time when I was not scared. So, I faced my fears and gave climbing a go. I found that it was a lot harder than I had expected. Not so much the heights but the actual climbing. I am going to have to build up my strength to do this. I didn’t even get all the way to the top of any of the climbs today. But I have several more trips to make and continue to try to get to the top. Apparently my two days of walking was too much for my feet because I got a huge blister on my left foot. It p...

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02053 Today we took a drive down to Mystic Aquarium for a last family adventure of the Summer. Allison starts work on Monday and Eva goes back a couple of times during next week. Andy still has a whole week of Summer break before they go back. So, today was the best day for us to go to the aquarium. We borrowed our friend Preston’s Feinstein card. Andy had one but I accidentally tossed it away when cleaning out my wallet. Andy will get a new one next month. With that card families get a free child and adult admission to the Mystic Aquarium. We hadn’t been there in several years. It was the kids’ idea to go to an aquarium. We had a nice time and spent a peaceful walk through the facility and checked out all the exhibits. Andy loved seeing all the animals through the looking bubbles because it distorted them. Both kids loved the beluga whales and also the penguins. We even watched the sea lion show. It was definitely geared to little kids but it was fun to watch, too. Wh...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02048 tonight was the last Food Truck event at Capron Park. We were fortunate enough to get to each on this season and each one was excellent. Tonight Allison got some tacos, Andy did loaded Mac and Cheese fries. Eva did her usually with General’s chicken on Friskies Fries. I got some beef empanadas that were excellent. After we ate our meal we got some desserts. andy got a special churro and Allison a vanilla churro, Eva got chocolate covered strawberries on a stick and I got an ice cream sandwich with Cookie Monster ice cream. It was a nice night and we were lucky for the weather to be nice not only this night but for each of the nights this Summer for enjoying the food trucks.