Every year I look forward to the individual Festibond dates I have with Dad and Mom. This year Dad and I decided to have dinner at Otto’s Pizza before going to a Portland Pirates’ hockey game. I read and studied the rules of hockey ahead of time so that I would be prepared.

At Otto’s I ordered a mashed potato, bacon and scallion pizza, which was better than I remembered. I enjoyed talking with Dad about what I thought of homeschool and who I thought was going to win the hockey game.

I'm eating a mashed potato bacon scallion slice of pizza.

For my Festibond date with Mom we went to a fancy restaurant called The Armory. Then we went to our favorite tea house, Dobrá Tea. Last, we went to the mall to go shopping. It was hard to figure all that out. At first we planned to play racquetball at Saco Sport and Fitness, but decided against it.

The Armory is very fancy. There are shelves of books painted on the walls, and I liked looking at them while I ate. There was one in which the spine read “Paris,” and another’s spine (which was rather thick) read “Egypt Vol. 1.” Then of course there was “Egypt Vol. 2,” 3, 4, 5, and 6. Some had painted bookmarks in them. I like that it looked like an old bookshop, even though it had a bar.

Me in front of the Regency Hotel

Jenna and I planned to go to lunch and to Dobrá Tea for our Festibond date together. During the drive to Portland I listened to a lovely concert performed by Jenna herself, with her own funny and spontaneous additions to the songs.

Brent suggested I take Jenna to the Armory Lounge at the Portland Regency Hotel. He was certain that Jenna would love it because it is fancy, and she loves anything fancy and sophisticated. When we walked in she commented about the elegant atmosphere and decór. It was quiet and dark, and we had the place to ourselves. Jenna walked around before deciding on the perfect table.

Jenna and me

Skye asked if we could walk around Old Port in Portland together and visit the shops in the area for our Festibond date. I hadn’t explored Old Port very much aside from some of the restaurants there, and I thought it sounded like fun. I had a wonderful time hanging out with my oldest daughter, who has recently passed me up in height. She borrowed my shirt, sweater, and shoes for our date together.

It was cold outside, so we first stopped at Starbucks to get some hot drinks to go. Skye ordered the eggnog latte, and I had a flavored espresso. In retrospect, we should have gone to Bard Coffee instead where the coffee is significantly better, but at least the beverages warmed us up as we embarked on our adventure in the chilly winter air.

Skye and me at Starbucks

When Hayley and I were deciding on what to do for our Festibond date together, I suggested going to the Children’s Museum in Portland. We let our annual membership expire a couple years ago, and Hayley has missed going. Of course when I made the suggestion and told her about some special activities going on there that day, she was ecstatic about it.

I really enjoyed talking with Hayley on the drive to Portland and hearing her perspectives and opinions about various subjects and issues. I am constantly impressed with her understanding and interpretation of complex concepts, and her memory is amazing. It is fun to debate with her; and she often challenges my own way of thinking. She is so much fun to hang out with!

My little Hayley and me

Yesterday I went on a date with my mom for Festibond. It was really fun. For our date we baked cookies and went to the children’s museum.

First when we got to the children’s museum, we went downstairs to the theater where I put on a puppet show for my mom. At first I was all quiet but after a while I became very playful and mommy jumped in and started putting on the play with me.

I put on a puppet show for Mom.

I always look forward to Festibond, and the preparations add to my excitement. My sisters and I baked goodies with mom, and we all spent time writing thoughtful letters to each other. I used the thesaurus a lot for my letters, not wanting to use many boring and overused words. I discovered some new words such as “hankering” and “gratify.” I enjoyed expanding my vocabulary while writing my letters.

Family Photo for Festibond of 2011

I absolutely love our annual Festibond family tradition. Nothing generates closeness, love, and enjoyment like this holiday we created a few years ago.

In preparation for Festibond, I did some baking with the girls. Each of them picked a treat they liked, and I baked with them each individually. Of course we also spent a lot of time writing our special Festibond letters to each other.

Sweethearts in love!

It was the 3rd of January. But not just the 3rd of January. Tonight it was date time for me and Dad.

I got dressed and everything. I wore a pink skirt with a belt, white tights, a white collared button down shirt tucked in, leather boots, a ponytail and a rose clip in my hair.

I brought my lyrics book just in case I wanted to sing in the car. But I still suggested I wouldn’t need it, because I would be talking to Dad on the way to the Cinemagic movie theater.

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On year 2010 Festibond on my date with Daddy I first went to the movies. We watched “Gulliver’s Travels.” It was funny and I laughed a lot. We shared popcorn. I got cookie dough bites and lemonade and Dad got Coke.

After the movie we went to Margarita’s for dinner. I had a kid’s taco, and Dad got Margarita’s Famous Taster. My taco was wicked delish! Dad asked if I was going to order fried ice cream, but I didn’t know what that was. I tried it. It was crispy on the outside and just like plain vanilla ice cream on the inside, with honey on top. It was pretty good except it had too much honey. I’m not going to get honey next time.

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