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

Every year for Festibond, each of us “sisters” have a separate date with our parents. This year, my mom and I chose to walk around Portland and get to know the city.

Our first stop was the Coastal Maine Popcorn Company. There were many flavors of popcorn. Some common flavors include cheddar, garlic parmesan, and caramel. I thought it was weird that there were flavors such as buffalo wing, sour apple, and red hot cinnamon. There were huge bags of popcorn which were about two gallons! I think it’s silly that they have such huge bags; Nobody should buy that much popcorn for that price at a time.

Mom and I are at the Coastal Maine Popcorn Company

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On December 29, 2010, I went on a date with my mom, which is part of our Festibond tradition.

First we went to the Palace Diner and I got a blueberry pancake. When I told Mom that chefs were better than cooks and said that Kyle was definitely a chef, she thought it was funny and put it on the blog she wrote about our date.

My blueberry pancakes at the Palace Diner

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Part of our Festibond tradition includes each of us girls going on a date with Mom and Dad separately. At first I suggested to Mom that we go play pool for our date. After finding out I was too young to play pool at the billiard rooms, I decided I would like to go see a movie and go to dinner.

Dad, Hayley, and I drove up to the mall to meet Mom and Jenna after their date together. We met them at Claire’s because that was where Jenna and I were going to get our ears pierced. Jenna and I picked out the exact same earrings to get our piercings. Jenna looked very calm for a girl going to get her ears pierced for the first time. I felt like I was in Hawaii on a hot day because boy, was I nervous. I was aching to get the piercing over with. I had gotten them pierced before, but the holes had closed up. As much as I wanted to seem tough I couldn’t help remembering the painful pinch that made me wince while getting my ears pierced the first time.

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One of our Festibond traditions is going on dates with mom and dad. First I went on a date with Mom. We went to “Silly’s,” a restaurant in Portland, Maine. The first time I went to Silly’s (with the whole family), the place was crowded. So we couldn’t, shouldn’t, and wouldn’t eat there. This was my first time eating at Silly’s. Mom and I had fun pointing out what was silly. They had pictures hanging on the wall that had stickers saying “eat at Silly’s” somewhere in the picture in funny places, the menus were in lunch boxes, the ceiling lights were decorated to look funny, and so on. I ordered “the Elvis shake” that Mom showed me. It’s a milkshake with peanut butter and bananas. You have GOT to try it! I don’t know how to explain it, but I hope these three words will work. It. Was. Awesome. That was basically my whole lunch, because I didn’t like the $7 pepperoni pizza I ordered. I only ate one tiny slice. Oh, and the slices were small.

Drinking my "Elvis" shake at Silly's

I love that Brent and I have included dates with each of the girls in our Festibond tradition. Skye first suggested we play pool for our date together. She loved going to Hooters and Side Pockets in Wichita where they had pool tables, but unfortunately the few places with billiards here in the Portland area have age limits. Skye’s second choice was to see the movie “Little Fockers.” She really likes Ben Stiller and has seen many of his movies.

Kirsten and Skye

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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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As part of our Festibond tradition, Brent and I separately take each of the girls out on a date. Yesterday Hayley and I had our date together. She has been roller skating before, as her friends have had roller-skating birthday parties. She decided she wanted to try ice skating. I thought it seemed like a perfect winter activity, especially living in Maine.

Hayley and me at the Family Ice Center in Falmouth

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