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.

Skye and I went to Otto’s Pizza and a Portland Pirates’ game for our Festibond date. It was her idea, and I was pretty excited about it.

During the drive to Portland we talked about Skye’s relationships with her sisters, Festibond, homeschool and what it’s like to be an adolescent girl. It was nice to get to know Skye better and have some exclusive time with her.

Otto’s was good, as usual. Skye ordered her favorite slice: mashed potato, bacon, and scallion. I got one of those and a pepperoni (the sauce is crazy delish). We continued our conversation from the drive, which was nice.

Beer and a couple slices at Otto's Pizza.

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Today on my date with dad for Festibond we went ice skating and we went to lunch. I had a great time.

First we went ice skating at the Portland Ice Arena. They only take cash but dad only had two dollars in cash so we had to find a ATM machine. It was hard finding a ATM machine. We had to walk a long way to find a ATM machine and it was cold. ‘Fun’ can not possibly be the correct word for finding a ATM machine. When we found a ATM machine we went back to the ice skating rink and rented some skates.

Once we got on our skates we went out onto the rink. I held my dad’s hand tightly so I wouldn’t fall. Daddy seemed to just be pulling me around the ice so I was just gliding around. I enjoyed ice skating a lot. I asked dad many questions about hockey, like where they put the net, if he played hockey as a kid, and if he ever saw his friends fall on the ice while they were playing.

Hayley and Dad at the Portland Ice Arena

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This year Hayley wanted to go ice skating for our Festibond date. Which was great, because I wanted to go, too.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the Portland Ice Arena we discovered that it’s a cash-only operation and I only had $2. We walked down the hill to a credit union with a drive-up-only ATM. So we walked a bit further and found an ATM that would dispense the cash we needed. It was a chilly walk that took time away from skating, but it was nice being together. I gave Hayley a piggy-back and shoulder ride much of the way, which she enjoyed.

Hayley and Brent

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My Festibond date with Jenna yesterday was wonderful. She asked to go bowling, then to dinner. So that’s what we did.

We bowled at Bayside Bowl for an hour. Jenna used the lane bumpers, but got good enough that she wasn’t using them much. She asked for lots of bowling tips, and I gladly gave her my best advice. One thing I love about Jenna is her dedication to perfection and perseverance. Many times she made her approach only to stop, reset and try again. She makes me very proud.

Brent's perfect bowling form

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My date with Dad was splendid. For this date we both went bowling at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine. It was loud and crowded the whole time we were there, but the funny thing is that I completely forgot all the noise when we were putting on our bowling shoes.

Dad bowling

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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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Hayley and I watched “Gulliver’s Travels” for our Festibond date. It was a fun movie we both enjoyed. It’s always fun to see Hayley laugh out loud. The theater was mostly empty, which was nice. Hayley enjoyed her milk chocolate cookie dough bites, popcorn and lemonade.

Hayley enjoys to color

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When I first asked Jenna where she wanted to go on our Festibond date she said to the Boston Museum of Science. That was a bit too much. Her next request was sledding, but unfortunately the good snow we got on Festibond had mostly melted by the time we were ready to go on our date. We both settled for the movies even though, as she stated emphatically, it wouldn’t be conducive to us bonding much.

We sat in the middle of a mostly empty theater and shared a medium popcorn while we watched “Little “Fockers.” It was mostly dumb, but Jenna seemed to enjoy it and told me several times how much she enjoyed being on a date with me.

Little Fockers

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