BenSpark Family Adventures

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00734 I was very excited to find out that Funko was making Pop! versions of some of my favorite Transformers characters. I pre-ordered all of them on Amazon and then found a Target exclusive version of Bumblebee. The Target version is the Chevy Camaro version and the regular is Bumblebee’s VW Bug version. These will go in a collection with Optimus Prime, Soundwave, Jazz and Megatron. I was going to shoot all of them but the Megatron one is still on the way. Once he arrives I will see about getting my originals out to shoot with them, although I never got Megatron as a kid because he was a gun. I never even picked up a re-issue of it because his toy was always loose and didn’t stand well. I do like that in the latest series he is a tank, that makes much more sense.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00733 Andy has been really excited about the LEGO super Mario sets. He bought the starter set last year and he asked for different add-on sets for Christmas. He received a bunch of them and today he built the Bowsers Castle set which is the largest set of the bunch. He did an awesome job, too. He’s assembled everything on the LEGO table so that he can make and remake the level and play the game. The Super Mario figure can read different parts of the game and score points and more. It is a really interesting thing that LEGO did to incorporate parts of the Super Mario franchise. There are lights and sounds on Mario. Mario has an expressive face and he makes tons of Super Mario sounds, too. I think he may expand his collection and create an even bigger play course. Not that he has much more room to expand.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00732 Well, here we are. A new year is upon us and there is much that needs to be done. We’re going to hold it together and keep on moving forward to make this a better year than the last. Today’s photo is of a mini suitcase that we got from Ellis Paul. We saw that he was doing a special New Year’s Eve show via Facebook Live and so we ordered these suitcases for us and for my sister, Tara and our friends, the Prestons. The show was a great way to usher in the new year last evening.

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00731 In many ways 2020 was the worst year ever. However, if I look closer at the year and what it has given us It hasn’t been without good points. Allison and I are both working and because of our jobs we have been able to care for the kids as they have their hybrid learning schedule. This year brought many challenges to our fitness. When the pandemic shut down gyms and our dojo we were able to continue to train via Zoom. Slowly we were able to go back to the mats and continue our training. This year Eva started training in Jr. Krav Maga and she has embraced it with such joy. She loves training and is having a good time with her friends. Andy is continuing to make strides in the right direction, too. While he is not as enthusiastic about training he goes and does the best he can. I have gotten very serious about working on the next level. Within this coming year I may even be eligible to test for my Black Belt. I have a very long road ahead and have to get my fi...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00730 Doodlematic sent me a free Mobile Game Maker kit to try out and review. Opinions are my own. Finding creative things for kids to do on their iPads and other devices can be tricky. There are so many mindless video games out there for them to play over and over. But what if kids as young as 6 years old can create their own games? With Doodlematic they aren’t just doing the simple mindless things, but rather they are engaging their minds and creativity to turn their hand drawn creations to digital life. Doodlematic was one of the most innovative and interesting things I saw at Toy Fair last February. When I walked by the booth they were handing out playable cookies. What are playable cookies you ask? they were cookies with an image on them that you could scan into the Doodlematic game and then play that image as a video game. They also handed out small Doodlematic kits that allowed you to play a mini version of the game and create your own games. Here’s how it...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00729 Today we were finally able to go to Cape Cod and visit with my parents and my sister and her husband. We couldn’t go down the day after Christmas as we had planned, nor stay the night. although, with our bedroom covered in things from my parent’s old house I don’t think we could have even slept there if we wanted to. We got going early and made it down by 10:15 or so. We hung out in our masks just in case 14 days was not long enough. We enjoyed seeing all of the decorations and finding those that we used to put up on the giant tree at my parent’s old house. This year was going to be a different one anyway, without the virus lurking. This would be the first year where Christmas would be at The Cape. Well, it did not happen as we had hoped but it makes for a better transition for next year where the new traditions will begin. I do hope that we are able to stay for a day or two and enjoy more down time and Christmas fun together. I’ve got the perfect puzzle to...

  Photo-A-Day 2.0 #00728 I found all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Monster Trucks at Target today. Now there are Character cars, Character themed cars and now Monster Trucks that are themed like the turtles. The only ones I have not gotten yet are the Monster trucks that look more like the turtles or a character car as a Monster Truck. I did find a Hot Wheels of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s van, the Party Wagon. It looks really cool!