Cora, Cora, how big you’ve gotten! Old enough to celebrate the birth of her nation with a smile and spirit.

Dipping her feet in Kelly’s Creek to cool off.

We celebrated Independence Day between Hurricane, Glasgow and Mammoth, West Virginia with the Beard Family. It was a scorcher for the area, averaging 97 degrees each day that we were here. Which was a real treat after the freak storms that hit the area, disabling electric service for over 200,000 people.

We celebrated nonetheless, enjoying cousins, aunts and uncles aplenty. And my favorite person to visit, Toots, Grandma Beard! She makes a great hostess and is such a fun lady to share with Cora. I hope she gets to share many more visits with us.

For Cora’s milestones, this trip saw more pulling up on the furniture and standing on her own. Lots of squats and pull-ups to get stronger for the walking she is bound to do soon enough.

More pictures can be found here.