This picture of our garden lettuce was taken a few days ago, and the lettuce has grown by leaps and bounds since then. I enjoyed a garden fresh salad yesterday for lunch, and then added fresh lettuce to our tacos last night. I have also been adding generous amounts of flaxseed meal to our taco meat for quite some time. My family has never caught on and I feel good about the added nutrition.
We did have small ping-pong ball size hail last night but the garden survived just fine.
Maggie has taken a packed lunch to school every day for kindergarten and first grade. Yesterday was the end-of-year party for the first graders, and the students were served pizza and snow cones, so Maggie didn't take a packed lunch. She was very distraught as we left home yesterday morning, and cried all the way to school asking for her packed lunch. She knew she would be eating pizza at school, but she kept saying, "I want my Mommy, I want my packed lunch!". I guess she equates the lunch with having a little bit of me at school. So, to my fellow bento-packing bloggers, your efforts and love ARE felt by the kiddos. Here is a picture of a typical bento-style lunch packed in the Spencer Bento box from Pottery Barn Kids. I love the inner-lidded compartment, pictured here with strawberries inside. That's a pb&j sandwich. The only problem I see with this box is the fact that although it will fit into a standard-sized lunchbox, it leaves no room for a drink. We use the stainless steel Kleen Kanteen in the small size for water each day, and it will absolutely not fit into a lunch box with this box. So, I found a large lunch bag at Gymboree that I have used all year, and I have even thrown it in the washer several times and it came out like new. I hope Gymboree offers another large lunch bag this upcoming year. I guess you could leave out a food item and put a small juice box in the Spencer box, but Maggie usually eats most of the food I pack these days, and I would prefer her to drink water anyway. I don't feel that sending the water bottle separately is a good option, because being an elementary-school teacher myself, I know how easily children lose items that aren't inside a bag or backpack.
Lots of growth and veggies in our garden these days. Keith has been working in the garden several hours per day. I enjoyed sitting and looking at the views yesterday morning before the warm temperatures of the day began. Lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers are ready to be enjoyed already! The girls and I attended a fish fry last night and had lots of fun with friends from our church family. Maggie unfortunately was bitten on the hand by a donkey at the fish fry. She was petting it, and it thought she had a carrot for it. Later, her plate of food was carried out of her hands by the wind. The wind was a blessing, however, keeping everyone comfortable and keeping the mosquitoes down. Today's plans include walking, napping, and looking forward to the summer stretching out ahead of us. 
