Isn’t it funny that the simplest things make us smile?

Spring break started for us on Sunday, when the girls returned home from their dad’s.

We had every intention of heading to the beach for a few days, but Mother Nature had other plans. Nothing says spring break in Alabama like freezing temperatures, right?

So, of course, it called for a last-minute change of plans, but we made do.

That afternoon, the sun was shining, but we knew it would be our last chance for some outside fun. So, we headed to the yogurt store for some yummy goodness and then to the lake.

The youngest girl had been going on and on about going swimming, but with temps in the high 70s, I didn’t think it was warm enough for a dip; however, we did find ourselves headed up to the cabin to check the construction progress and ended up on the receiving end of a scavenger hunt.

The sun did a lot to warm things up outside, but it did nothing to help the water. It made no difference to them.

The youngest was in first. She’s the adventurous one. Both feet in, she was squishing around in muck, and when she came up with the biggest mussel shell I’d ever seen, the search was on. When she found four spark plugs, a baby food jar, and five pieces of metal, her sisters couldn’t stand it. Two feet in, they each went.

The shrieks went up immediately, and the more their toes squished in the mud, the more they giggled.

For more than 30 minutes, the shells were flying and the “treasures” found their way onto the bank. Added to the collection included one brick, many limbs and some strange looking rocks.

As they scrambled into the back of the truck for a ride to the end of the dirt road, I heard one say that they’d had a great time. It made me smile.

When they piled into the truck cab, their voices blended to the tunes on the radio – not “in tune,” mind you, but still – it made me smile.

And when the movie witch caused the smallest one to crawl in my lap, I had to smile again. Guess you’re never too old to want to sit in Mommy’s lap.

At the arcade Monday, the scores of tickets were remitted for six pieces of candy, two pacifier necklaces, a set of vampire teeth and a can of pop rocks.

And I smiled – I made it out of there only $20 poorer and was crowned “Queen of the best spring break ever.”