Birthday in the country

We celebrated my niece's ninth birthday last weekend. The niece that wasn't even four years old when she was in my wedding. I think that's five years ago but I couldn't possibly be right because it was just yesterday.

Anyway, I loaded up City Mickey and City Alex and took them to her house in Small Country Town for her birthday party. On the way Mickey asked if they have any toys. Um, yes, you could say that. Good, he says. Do they have a play area? Well, I don't know, honey...if you call 87,000 acres and vehicles (or animals) to scale it a "play area," then, yes, they have that, too.

(And if any of the parents of these kids freak out over my seven readers seeing these adorable pictures of their kids, please let me know and I will take them off. But then they'd just be depriving the Seven of their kids' adorableness. Aside: If you haven't noticed, I'm seriously relaxing my self-imposed rule about not putting my boys' pics out here. I guess I'm all comfy out here or something.)

Not your ordinary farm/ranch.

Small but mighty transportation.

And why can't a pond have a pier? That little yellow spot getting ready to walk the plank on the far left is Alex. Nice knowin' ya, sweetie.

Birthday girl catching her dinner.

Ten kids, two inches from water's edge, and I still managed to snap pictures.

That's the hand of big sister L who made that masterpiece of a cake.

The birthday party.