BenSpark Family Adventures

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02513 My friend James from Men who Blog connected me with a chance at a review for his site. I was sent tis new coloring book called Epic quests and today I made a time lapse video of me coloring a page from the book. It was fun to do.

The folks from Lumibricks sent me their latest building set, the Izakaya for free to build and review. Opinions are 100% my own. I've built a few sets from Lumibricks (formerly FunWhole) in the past and they are really fun and interesting. The photo above is of the Izakaya and also The Apartment. they are both part of a Cyberpunk theme called Neoncity. At this time there are also two additional buildings that you can build and add to this whole theme, the Game Stack and the Floating Train Station. The great things about these sets is that they light up. As you build you are also adding lights and wires and ways to illuminate the amazing build. Once you're done building you fire up some power and the lights blaze up. With Neoncity sets you get some incredible Nenon effects light signs and even neon tube lights. That is one of the coolest things about these sets is how the lights are incorporated into the build. Some very innovative bricks were made in order to thread the wiring...

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #02055 The folks at General Mills wanted us to be ready for the school season. They sent me a package of some great stuff including Super Mac from Annie’s, a bunch of granola bars and some new cereal from Cascadian Farm. They also provided us with a cute little sign for back to school. One of those signs that kids hold up on their first day back. Eva will use it Thursday and Andy next Tuesday. Andy already called dibs on the mac and cheese. Some of the granola bars are nut free which is great because of all the kids with nut allergies.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01715 The folks at PMI toys sent me a Pudgy Penguins package for Positive Thinking Day. These cute little guys are lots of fun and there is an app associated with them for kids to adopt their penguins and style them and play with them, too. I think Andy is really going to like these when I give them to Andy after school. Andy does enjoy penguins.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01707 Playmobil sent me their latest retro toy, the Magnum, p.i. Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole playset to review. Playmobil has been doing a great job making different sets for many of the classic shows that I’ve enjoyed in my childhood. Most of the shows have iconic vehicles in them like K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider and the A-Team van. Magnum, p.i.’s Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole is also quite iconic. Who from my generation can still see that car cruising around Hawaii as Magnum got up to his antics. This show ran from 1980 to 1988 and I was 6 when the show debuted. That is probably why I never got into watching it. I probably would have enjoyed it because I liked so many other shows of that genre at that time. Despite not watching the show I do know much about it and was excited that Playmobil made this playset. The iconic Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole from the classic 80s TV crime series Magnum, p.i. Set also includes the main characters from the series: Thom...

  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 #01615 I have been so focused on the Black Belt Test that I have been unable to give time to some reviews. I have a bunch of Playmobil Naruto characters to show you and also a fun toy bow and arrow set to also review. They have been sitting behind me in the office for months and have been looking at me wondering when I will review them. Soon, very soon.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01607 General Mills often sends me free samples of their new products so that I can try them out and let you know what I think. I’m a big fan of many of the fun products that they make. This time they sent me 5 new products to enjoy. I love the snack attack box that everything arrived in. Great fun packaging. Can’t wait to share with everyone what they sent.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01600 We received a free copy of the new cookbook by Tara Theoharis, Minecraft: Gather, Cook, Eat! Official Cookbook for review. Opinions are my own. When your kids are into Minecraft and also have a passion for the kitchen it is a total no brainer to pick up Minecraft: Gather, Cook, Eat! Official Cookbook. I was asked if I wanted to review this and I jumped at the chance because my son loves both cooking and Minecraft. Andy got a whole night to showcase their cooking talents (with some help from Allison). Andy made 4 things from the cookbook. We were able to enjoy 3 of them tonight and tomorrow we will get to enjoy the fourth item. For our main course Andy made the Chicken Jockey Sandwich. This was a chicken breast sandwich on a brioche bun with provolone and bacon plus tomato and lettuce. You could also add pesto to the sandwich. I’m not a big fan of pesto but I did add a little. I enjoyed it more without the pesto. But that is personal preference. Andy also ma...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01559 We received a review copy of World’s Worst Time Machine by Dustin Brady. This book is going to be released on April 25th. I requested a copy of this book so that Andy could read it because getting Andy to read anything has been difficult. Dustin Brady is said to write books for kids who hate reading books. We’ve actually reviewed one of his books in the past called Trapped in a video Game. That was a whole series that he created and I think that World’s Worst Time Machine may potentially be a whole new series. At least that is what I gathered when I read through the whole book. It took Andy a very long time to read the book because of all the other things that they can be distracted by. However, today I got Andy to finally finish the book. Once the book was done Andy tells me that the book nearly made them cry at the end. It was the best ending ever they said. So I then read the book. It took me two days but it was a very quick read. I read the book all the...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01549 I was sent a box of fun stuff for the upcoming super Mario Bros. Movie. Mario and Luigi hats, t-shirts, stickers, buttons and bags. Lots of fun stuff. I made a video unboxing the swag. The movie hits theaters on April 5th.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01521 The folks at Playmobil set me some Naruto figures to unbox and review. Opinions are my own. I have never watched an episode of the Japanese Anime show, Naruto Shippuden. However, this past year Fortnite did a crossover with the series and it was fun. I learned more about the character and the show and so when Playmobil asked if I’d like an influencer package for the toys I said yes. Here is the video I made of the figures.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01470 General Mills Cereals sent me a free sample of their latest cereal, Hot Wheels Cereal. They often send me free samples to review. I specifically asked to check this one out because I love Hot Wheels and have a big collection of character cars and more Hot Wheels vehicles. I recently added a Twinkly Line to a display of my Hot Wheels character cars. The lights are on a length of Hot Wheels track. Makes for a pretty sweet display. Speaking of sweet, the cereal is also rather sweet with a fruity taste. I usually do not like fruity cereals but this one was really good. It felt like a cross between Trix and Lucky Charms. Andy got to the cereal first and he’s been enjoying that each morning for breakfast. I was once again lucky to get myself a bowl of the cereal before he ate it all. I think we’ll be picking this up again.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01461 Occasionally General Mills sends me some of their newest cereals. This time they sent Lucky Charms S’mores to try for free. Andy ended up getting to the box before I did and he ate nearly all of it. In fact the bowl pictured was the only one I had. This was a very tasty cereal and we both enjoyed it very much. It should be on shelves now or hitting shelves soon.

  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 #01436 I received an advanced copy of the book Quest Kids and the Dragon Pants of Gold. I requested it for Andy because I figured that he would enjoy the silliness of it plus the tons of cartoon illustrations inside. The book is filled with cartoons that go along with the story. It is one of those combination books where much of the story is told through the cartoons on each page but then there are also pages of text. It is a great book for those kids who are not huge readers but they enjoy cartoons and will find having cartoons and text broken up throughout the book much easier to read. This is the type of reader that Andy is. He’s not one for a straight up book with text only. He enjoyed the cartoons and the story of this book because it was so absurdly silly. I also read the book and found it to be pretty funny. The simple drawings and the unique and funny characters made it an interesting read. You can pick up this book from out amazon.com affiliate link and g...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01435 I received the House of Sweets for free from Funwhole. Opinions are my own. I’m writing an article over on the Men Who Blog site regarding this House of Sweets building set from Funwhole. I spent much of today building the set and making the video of buildings the set. It took a me a few hours to build the 986 piece set but once it was done it was well worth it. I’ll link to the article once it is posted. In the meantime you can find the House of Sweets set on the FUNWHOLE website. You can also check out my review video.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01428 I recently received a copy of the final book in the Explorer Academy series from National Geographic. This is a YA adventure series that takes place all around the world. There is a blend of real world science with science fiction plus a ton of cool locations across the globe and lots and lots of puzzles and riddles and codes to solve. I have read all seven books in the series and I have enjoyed them all. The series centers on the character Cruz Coronado. He’s a kid form Hawaii who gets accepted into the fictional Explorer Academy based in Washington DC. From there he has adventures all over the world with his friends Emmett, Sailor, Bryndis and Lani. This series has been building to an incredible finale and this book did not disappoint. Some major thigs were revealed and I am happy to hear that while Cruz’s story and focus on him is over with this series there is a spin-off series coming centered around another explorer and that already has some interestin...

A Christmas Story is an annual tradition in this house. We watch the movie at least three times a holiday season. The story of Ralphie Parker and his pursuit of the Red Ryder BB Gun is iconic. The movie itself is so incredibly quotable and it is accessible to so many people. From Jean Shepherd’s narration to the imaginative daydreams to getting a tongue stuck to a freezing flag pole this movie has so many great moments. On Thursday November 17th HBO Max is releasing A Christmas Story Christmas which is a sequel to the iconic Christmas Movie. I was able to screen the movie early so that I could interview Ralphie Parker himself, Peter Billingsley. You can see the trailer below. As a fan of the original I went in wondering if I would like how they handle this sequel while also knowing that nothing could ever be better than the original. This movie, however, did an amazing job of being true to the original film and being its own unique story and did not lean on the original movie’s plot or...

Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01400 I was given a free Twinkly Squares starter Kit to review. Opinions are my own. My walls are covered with all sorts of fun toys and other things. I now have an amazing set of programmable LED Wall Panels from Twinkly that I’ve added to the décor of the office. These panels are programable, work with Google, Alexa and Apple and can be customized down to the individual LED. Each Twinkly Square has 64 LEDs on it in an 8×8 grid. You can combine any number of these squares together in all different shapes to create the look and feel that you want in your own home. I personally want to get the 3 Square expansion pack so that I would have a perfect 3X3 square of 9 individual Twinkly Squares. I think this would be the perfect size and addition to my office. For now the 2X3 setup I have is cool and fun. But I can make it better. I made a review of this fun product for my YouTube Channel. Here are more details on the Twinkly Squares from their press release: “Leading Italia...