Fish and Wings

A girl on the go

Mary Ella had a fun time with her Super Uncle Cole this weekend! She got so excited when he got here and hugged and kissed him when he left. I LOVE that she is starting to give hugs too! Friday night we took Cole and Jenn downtown to eat at The Flying Fish for Jenn's birthday.

Mary Ella roaming the streets of downtown. Ha!


This picture captures how she is these days...busier and faster than ever!

She has learned to use the "more" sign.

Cole and the birthday girl

Tickles

She got to see the buggy horse on his break.

Not sure he liked her foot in his face.

It was a beautiful night in the city! We got to enjoy the fall air from our table, and we had Coca-Cola cake waiting for us when we got home!

Saturday morning we headed to Stuttgart, Arkansas, home of Mack's Prairie Wings. Mack's is a world famous outfitter for duck hunters, but also has other hunting gear and a few things for the ladies and kids. They were having their fall sale, and Cole thought we just had to go. It was in the middle of nowhere, but there were a TON of people there. They had a huge tent sale, food, games, and more rednecks than you can imagine. I noticed a man wearing a shirt that said "I love trailer trash." Ha! And I thought it was funny that they were administering free hearing tests inside the store (for the folks that shot too many guns). It really wasn't that bad, and Mary Ella had fun. Apparently, hunting dogs are welcome at Mack's, so she really enjoyed seeing all the "puppies." And there were plenty of stuffed animals to look at (I don't mean for the kids...like real deer, an elephant head, a giant polar bear). And she basically loves anything outside, so it was a great time!

Puppy!

Ooh!

I sat her on the edge of the jump zone and bounced her around a bit. We didn't actually go in because of the big kids, but she still thought it was pretty cool.

Riding a stuffed deer (this one was for the kids)

Before we left Stuttgart we did fine one girly boutique downtown. Then we were off to Scott, Arkansas to eat at Cotham's Mercantile, an old general store turned restaurant and home of the hubcap burger. It was built in 1917 on stilts on the edge of an oxbow of the Arkansas River and looked like it might fall in the water at any moment, but it was yummy! We saw it on Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. Brad likes any show about pigout joints, and this was definitely one of those. The hubcap burger has a one pound beef patty...Cole and Jenn shared it.

This was the hubcap next to my regular 1/4 lb. burger. Mine was big enough! A guy beside us tried a double hubcap and didn't finish it. The big challenge on Man vs. Food was the quadruple hubcap! Can you imagine? Cole and Jenn didn't have room for dessert, but Brad and I tried a fried chocolate pie that was so good! Cole and Jenn had to get back home that night, but we sure enjoyed our "small town Arkansas Saturday."

Mommy and ME sitting on the very old front porch

Family pic before church