BenSpark Family Adventures

Photo-A-Day #02599 When Allison and Eva went tot he Transformers Store in London they picked up a Funko Bitty Pop! Retro Toys set of Transformers. The way that Funko did these sets was that they had 4 different Bitty Pop! Retro Toys sets, each with a different Hasbro Retro Toys Theme. There was Transformers, G.I. Joe, Mr. Potato Head and Board Games like Monopoly and Operation. However, in these sets of four figures there was one figure that was a mystery figure. The mystery figure may or may not match the overall theme of the set. Int his case it does not match because I got Lite Brite with my Transformers. I didn't have the heart to tell Eva that I already had this set on my wall of Transformers. She was so happy to have found something fun for me in London that was Transformers themed. And they are very cool. I opened this one because I have an unopened one on my wall. I didn't know about how they worked the "mystery figure". So now I am on the lookout for Soundwav...

Photo-A-Day #02598 I had wanted to do an ice cream making class with andy during February vacation and well, since this has been an extended vacation because of all the snow days we got our chance to go today. An ice cream shop local to us, Frisbie's offers ice cream making classes. It is more of an experience than a class but it is very fun none the less. We are here with the ice cream sundaes that we got after we made our own ice cream. Because our ice cream will take a day to freeze properly they give us some of their ice cream to enjoy after class. I say give but we definitely paid for the experience. The cost was $75 per person. I think that the store probably took home 75% of that fee in profit after all was said and done. So they poured a bag of ice cream mix into the machine to mix, add air and freeze a bit. We each got a large tub and added that base ice cream. Then we could mix in our own base as well as other items. I had wanted to make a strawberry oreo ice cream but th...

Photo-A-Day #02597 Today was another Snow Day and that meant more shoveling and more snowblowing. This is our corner and I made sure to snowblow a path along the whole of our sidewalk minus one part that I just simply could not get through and was getting too tired to complete after doing 4+ hours and 3 refills of the gas tank. I did both neighbors again and after I had made my first pass the city came by and made their pass which meant I had to redo everything. Allison and Eva took care of taking the snow off the cars. It was warmer so the sun took care of more of the snow.  The bad. I scraped the heck out of the side of my car with the snowblower. Looks like I'm going to have to get more scratch stickers. My car has taken a major beating this winter. Seeing the city come by and fill in my whole path was tough but the guy driving the truck apologized and I know that cannot be helped. It simply cannot. I am glad that they did not plow in the corner like they usually do. I did get t...

Photo-A-Day #02596 We've had snow since 1978 but I think this is the first REAL legitimate Blizzard that we have seen since then. I've even seen reports that the amount of snow we got is more than that blizzard. I slept till about 12:30 and then went outside around 2pm. I was out snow blowing and shoveling until about 5pm. The kids and allison came to help me out as well. We dug a path to the garage so I could use the snowblower.  Took this one at 3:43am Snow at 6:38am. The Side Porch. Backyard at 12:48pm Clearing a bit of the sidewalk. Front of the house.

Photo-A-Day #02595 Today was rehearsal for The Winter Wolf. I have been working hard to get my lines memorized. I've talked with a few friends who are actors on what they do to get the lines down. I got some great advice and I think that overall Today was good. I'm at 88% of my lines down pat. There are a few that I am still mixing up the timing for but i am getting there. I don't feel as bad as I did earlier in the week. I feel better about my handle on the lines. Today we got our Cora back from her vacation but the Mother, Stephanie, she is on a work trip for another week. So I'll see her next week. We've got a lot of work still to do but I'm feeling good. The set looks amazing and I can't wait for people to see the play.

Photo-A-Day #02594 Allison and Eva went to London ... and all I got was a sweet Transformers t-shirt, and more. While in London, Allison, Eva and Mimi went to Battlesea Station, a converted Power station that is now an indoor mall. Inside is a store that is 100% dedicated to Transformers. I had seen it on Tik Tok and joked that if they saw it they need to go. I wanted a pin from the place but they came home with two pins, some mini Transformers Funko characters and a keychain and a t-shirt of Optimus Prime with the Battlesea Station. Inside the building they have a large mural that tells the story of Battlesea Station actually being a Transformer. I thought that was cool for lore of the place. It makes sense to have a London store dedicated to Transformers. One of our greatest Transformers writers Simon Furman wrote the UK version of the Transformers comic books for years and then over to the US for many more.

Photo-A-Day #02593 Earlier this week Andy and I went to the Providence Place Mall and while we were there I picked up this LEGO Postcard. LEGO has a few of these in a series but when I saw it was London I had to get it and build it as a welcome home for Allison and Eva. I picked them up from the airport today. Their flight came in around 3:45 I had gotten to the cell phone lot at 3:30 and just waited till they were ready to leave the airport. It was pretty good just going to that lot before getting them. I hadn't done that before. Allison and Eva brought home some fun gifts for Andy and me. They had gone to the Transformers Store at Battle Sea Station and got me a couple of fun things including a tshirt and some pins.