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

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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I think that homeschooling is easy once Dad told us about Richard Dawkins new book, ‘The Magic Of Reality’, because it gave me a lot of questions. Before that, I was clueless with no ideas or big interests. How I like it? Well, I miss friends and all, but I bet I’ll adjust and get used to it. Besides, I still go to art, and strings (Which is so easy I was bored to tears).

I always imagined homeschool like public schools, but at home. Instead, I’m on my own. That’s probably what I’m not used to. Already several people at school that I see when I go to art or strings are very confused when they see that I have a visiter badge.

I’m going to be home schooled until high school. I spend my time with my violin, researching, and reading, and math.

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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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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Brent and I take each of the girls out on dates as part of our Festibond tradition. The idea for my date with Jenna came to me easily. Recently she has been asking to go to a spa. She has her own unique style whether she’s coordinating her outfits or trying different hairstyles, and she loves painting her fingernails. Getting a manicure together was the perfect Festibond date for us. Jenna was very excited when I suggested it. I wasn’t familiar with the day spas in the area, so I asked for recommendations on Twitter. Our friend Adam suggested Fabu Salon and Day Spa. His girlfriend Kristin highly recommended it. I set up an appointment for Sunday afternoon.

Showing off our French manicures

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This year on Festibond we had a blizzard. We had a hard time driving around.

We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Their pancakes were awesome! At Cracker Barrel they had a game called “Pegs” that you could play while waiting for food. It was extremely challenging and fun.

After breakfast we went to Staples to publish our Festibond booklets. Then we wrapped presents at home. We were prepared to bond.

Putting together the Festibond booklets

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The Dyer Library here in Saco hosted a Harry Potter Extravaganza: a film premier party for the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Jenna was especially excited about it because she has been reading and enjoying the Harry Potter series. She just started the seventh and final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

The Harry Potter Extravaganza was well done, and the girls had a good time. They had their fortunes told by Professor Trelawney, played games, colored Harry Potter pictures, and made wands. Hayley dressed as Hermione Granger, Jenna dressed up as Cho Chang, and Skye as Ron Weasley. The girls even convinced me to dress up as Professor McGonagall.

Cho, Ron, and Hermione