Zaye's birthday party

My nephew Zaye turned 11 on April 20th, and Tony (my brother) had a birthday party for him yesterday. Tony lives just east of Orlando, about two hours from us, on five acres of land. It's beautiful out there, and it was the perfect place for the kids to run around and play for the day. We took Brendan's friend, Brandon, with us since Zaye likes him a lot, too.

When we arrived Maddox was taking a nap.  Love how he had his blanket over his head.

Zaye on the "redneck slip and slide" (as Tony called it).

Tony and Sean.

This old playground favorite was a hit with the kids, even though it was so small.

My silly brother.  It was so tight it was pulling his eyes up!

Zaye's 11 candles.

The birthday boy.

I love watching Tony playing with my kiddos.  He was tickling Sean, despite the fact that Sean is WAY bigger than he is.

An old helicopter body (prop from Universal Studios) that Tony's roommate, Kevin, has on the property.  It was perfect for the boys since they played for hours with their pellet guns on the property.

Brendan on the hunt for one of the other boys, pellet gun in hand.

Momma, Daddy and baby sand hill crane.  They live on the property, and their nest is in the lake right outside of the house.

Donny is Hannah's oldest son (Tony's friend).

Look at my handsome boy with his new haircut!

Zaye with his birthday gift from Tony.

Tony and Hannah being silly.  Or not.

No, it's not a random picture of the ground.  This is an ant colony that Tony feeds every day.  

"Fred" sits in one of the old abandoned vehicles on the property.  "Fred" as in "I Am Legend" Fred.

Tony in the pen with the turkey and the baby duck.

These two live together in the pen.  The baby duck thinks that the female turkey is his/her mom, and after losing her two babies to raccoons, the turkey treats the duck like her baby.

A daily dose of turkey eggs.  Tony and Kevin get at least one from her every day, and they eat them (there is no male turkey to fertilize them, so they wouldn't hatch anyway).

The gang on the trampoline just before sunset.