“We’re here! We’re here!” the kids cheered in the back seat of the van.
I smiled at my husband as he parked the car in the driveway of the cottage. He groaned looking at me with exhaustion in his eyes.
“Thank the Lord we’re here because I couldn’t take any more traffic… or the kids asking if we’ve arrived yet…” he sighed.
I let out a chuckle and kissed him on the cheek. I opened up the passenger door and let myself out of the car while my husband let himself out on the other side. Our three children chanted in the back seat to be let out of the car.
I opened up the back slider door to the minivan. Before the kids had a chance to stand up from their seats, our dog dashed out of the car. She ran passed the driveway, through the deck, over the sandy beach backyard, and jumped right into the lake.
The kids hopped out of the car cheering our dog on chasing after her.
“No one is allowed in the lake yet!” my husband shouted.
“Aw…” the kids moaned.
“Come help us unload the car. Then we can have lunch and go swimming.” I told the kids. They all groaned in unison at the thought of unpacking the car. Now that they were a little bit older they could start pitching in with the packing and unpacking.
I grabbed a couple of suitcases in my arms and headed for the deck to walk through the front door of the cottage. Before opening the door of the cottage, I leaned back to check on the lake. I didn’t need the dog to go swimming after some ducks.
Instead, the dog was out of the water lying on the deck sunbathing. She was certainly in vacation mode.
“How come she gets to relax and go swimming right away?” one of my daughters growled.
“She’s a dog, dummy.” My son scoffed.
The three kids walked past me each carrying one suitcase each. I held the door open for them while trying to balance the few bags I carried. My husband walked up on the deck carrying more bags than I had in my arms. I tried to hold the door open for him as he squeezed the bags in the doorway.
Once we were all settled into the cottage, the kids brought their luggage into their bedrooms, I brought the dog inside the house and fixed everyone sandwiches for lunch. We sat outside in sandy yard and ate at the picnic table.
The kids choked their food down in anticipation to go swimming. They ran back inside to get changed into their swimsuits as my husband and I continued to eat. After a few moments, they came charging out of the house with the dog at their heels. All four of them jumped into the lake splashing, laughing, and having a good time.
My husband smirked as he ate watching the kids play in the lake. I pushed my empty plate away from me and took out my book and opened it up.
I had been looking forward to this vacation all year long.
