A Home For Zoe

Adventure (In Editing)

Sorry. I know it's been forever since I updated. I had to write a book in one month for school, and that took up all of my writing time.
I want to thank everyone for reading and voting, it means so much to me.

"Family is not an important thing,
it's everything."

Zoe

I look around me in awe at the plush resort lobby in Flint, Texas while Alanna stands in line to check in. It's filled with happy families and excited children. The line moves slowly, and the twins become bored, and begin to whine.

When Alanna joins us, she looks happy, "Our room is all ready, and we can head there now."

Everyone jumps up and heads for the door, excited to get settled in. When we reach Apartment 105b Alanna flashes a key card near the door handle. She pulls open the door and I get my first glimpse of the interior.

A large living space, including a full kitchen, a large table and a living room. As we walk through I discover two bedrooms with 2 bunk beds each and a master with a king sized bed.

It is so unreal. The girls call one room while the boys take the other. Chloe takes the top bunk on our bed while the twins take the other. Since we'll be here for the next 7 days we unpack our bags, settling in. This time I have no problem putting everything away because I know I will be leaving at the end of the week, but I will be leaving with my family.
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Alanna calls us all into the living room about a half an hour later. "Okay, guys there are a lot of activities to try while we're here. I know everyone loves the pool," this statement brings cheers, "and the water park. But we also want to spend some time on the lake this year, and horseback riding. So I want everyone to think about what they would most like to do, so we get a chance. Okay?"

Everyone nods excitedly. I've never been on a vacation before, even before my mother's death we had been too poor to go anywhere, except maybe the beach, an hour from our house, for the day.
___

I absolutely love horses, though I've never ridden one before. So on Monday, I'm awake bright and early, practically bouncing with excitement.

After breakfast we walk down to the stables, where a group of horses are lined up, one for each of us.

While the twins are led to a couple of ponies, the rest of us are introduced to our horses. Mine's name is Shining, and is all black, except for a white strip on her nose.

The instructors help us to put saddles on them and then climb on. We ride them down to the beach, and trot them along the side of the lake.

It's amazing to be up so high as the wind whips at my hair, and the horse moves beneath me.

When we arrive back at the stables, I don't want to climb down. But I'm grateful to have gotten the chance to ride at all, so I climb down and walk out Shining, then the stable hand helps us brush them before we leave.

Alanna looks at me as we walk back to the apartment, and notices how happy I am. "We can go again later this week," she says.
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The whole week goes like this,activity after activity. The mornings are spent at the beach, the arcade or the mini golf course. The twins and Tyler play at the playground while Chloe, Cason and I play basketball or volleyball. In the afternoons we spend time at the pool or water park. And the evenings are spent watching movies in the living room.
___

On our last day we wake up early to pack, checking out before 10 and then we spend the afternoon at the pool, until we have to leave to drop off the rental car and catch our flight. When we land at home late that night, and climb into the car to drive home, I feel happy, almost peaceful.