Summer Bentos

(Also known as "Trip-pool Play"!  Yes, it's cheesy, which is why it didn't make the final cut to be the actual title of this post!)

Many thanks to reader (and follower!) Jenna, who blogs over at Fermented Grapes, for inquiring via a comment as to whether or not there would be any summer bentos.  The answer, until last week, was that I hadn't packed any lunches.  I have to admit that, after an entire school year of lunches, I was looking forward to the break!  We've eaten a good number of lunches away from home - mostly using that time to catch up with friends we don't get to see as often during the school year. 

One day last week, I planned to take the kids for a long afternoon at the pool - including lunch.  As I was packing, I remembered just how much I love packing our lunches!  So of course, I had to take pictures. These are really very simple lunches - most of ours are. 

Mister J's lunch, clockwise from top left:  blueberries and watermelon, strawberries, a fruit bar for an afternoon snack, sunflower seeds, sliced turkey, mozzarella and cheddar cheese cubes and crackers.

Miss M's lunch, clockwise from top left: watermelon, strawberries and blueberries, a fruit bar, sunflower seeds, sliced turkey, cubed mozzarella and cheddar cheese and crackers.  (Deja vu yet?)

My lunch, clockwise from top left: blueberries and watermelon, strawberries, the broken pretzel rods (because the full-length ones don't fit in by lunchbox), sunflower seeds, sliced turkey, mozzarella and cheddar cheese cubes and crackers.  (Seriously, you must have deja vu by now.)

The cute little picks are a new addition to our lunch goodies.  I was hoping to make them a surprise for the kids, but Mister J spotted them while I was packing our meals.

And - yippee! - all of our bentos fit into this cooler!  I don't think I've ever tried this before.  If I have, well, I got excited all over again when I figured this out. 

A few cold packs on top, a soft-sided cooler for our drinks, and we were off! 

My favorite part of lunch was the watermelon.  The kids devoured it, too.  I've read that watermelon is "nature's G@torade."  I wonder if that's why we enjoyed it so much.  It's one of my favorite fruits - best eaten on a sweltering afternoon!