Roses & Thorns - From the Ladies

Andrew got to get his vent out on the Internet and now it’s the girls and my turn. But with a twist. Some people may have heard of Roses & Thorns, kind of like a pros and cons list, it’s a fun dinner table or (as we have found) hiking game. We share our Roses – which are highlights or bright spots (from the trip, from the day, etc) and then we share our Thorns – not so great or maybe painful parts of the experience. I’ll go first: 

MOMMY’S ROSES & THORNS:  

ROSE: I am grateful and blessed to spend unlimited time with my family. 

THORN: I have very little personal or private time.. I do try to carve out some me time, but we all have a lot to see and do, so we generally do it together. 

ROSE: I am proud of myself for starting a new habit of meditating every morning. Which is great for my mind and overall well being. I feel way less stressed and anxious than I did at home. 

THORN: Meditating is not working out. I miss my regular running and yoga work outs. Meditating is great, but it does not get the heart rate up. The only exercise we have been doing is walking and hiking. I need to get better at this and run circles around the campgrounds if I must. 

ROSE: We have reduced our belongings to very few. We are living with less and living more simply. 

THORNS: Our camper is tiny and even with less stuff it feels like we have way too much and there is no place for it all. We have what I call “The Nightmare Closet” even with all the organizational products out there I still have to take everything out to get one thing out. Eventually, we will be letting some stuff go and maybe that will help. But it’s also a vacation, so we do find ourselves picking up small trinkets along the way. Ahhh, its an endless cycle! 

ROSES: I can’t wait to see my sister in almost 2 weeks and stay at her house! I am also super excited to see family in December and visit friends along the way on the trip! 

THORNS: I miss my friends from home. I miss Sunday night dinner with my family. I miss lunches after yoga. I miss hanging out on our porch watching the kids play at the park. I miss throwing the balls for the dogs after school – although, I would still miss that at home since the kids with dogs are now on to Middle School. 

ROSES: I really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, seeing so many new places and amazing parts of the country. Everyday is new and different and it brings wonder and curiosity to each new day. I love this fresh perspective that each new adventure and location brings. 

THORNS: I am sad I can’t see everything. There is so much to see and even with all the time we have we are just barely scratching the surface. 

SIENA’S ROSES & THORNS: 

ROSE: I like getting to visit new places like Maine, Quebec and Montreal and other cool places. 

THORN: We have to drive a lot. 

ROSE: I like getting to see family in places that we don’t usually get to go – like Montana, Montreal and Virginia. 

THORN: We don’t get to spend a lot of time with them, we only get to see them for a couple days and then we have to leave. 

ROSE: I don’t have to change my clothes every day. 

THORN: I have to take a lot of showers. We have been taking more showers on this trip than we do at home. And I left all the soap, shampoo and the Darth Vader buff puff in the public shower in Quebec. :-( 

ROSE: I like getting to play with my sister more than we do at home. 

THORN: But whenever I don’t want to play she gets really mad at me. 

ROSE: When we get back we will be really happy to see our friends again and everything will seem new to us.  

THORN: That seems so far away from now. 

NADIA’S ROSES & THORNS: 

ROSE: I like experiencing new things, like seeing Mt. Rushmore. 

THORN: I don’t like driving all day and super long trips.  

ROSE: I like calling and sending postcards to my friends. 

THORN: I miss all my friends at school. I am sad I didn’t get to get excited about a new teacher this year. 

ROSE: I like that when I am homeschooled I am more focused, at school with all my friends I use to talk too much. 

THORN: Homeschooling is hard, cause I am starting division and its not that easy. 

ROSE: I like playing play mobile and legos with my sister. 

THORN: Sometimes Siena doesn’t play with me and that drives me BONKERS. 

ROSE: I like being with my family and that Daddy doesn’t have to go to work and I can be with Mommy and Daddy all day. 

THORN: Sometimes I don’t like when my parents are on their phones, because its annoying and I can’t talk to them at lunch time.

ROSE: I am super excited to see my relatives. 

THORN: I am sad that I will have to leave them.