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Summer on a Plate: Fresh Peach Pie
Peach season has come to Iowa. It waited until we returned from vacation, much to my relief, or we would have missed out on summer’s best dessert - fresh peach pie. This week, thanks to the impeccable timing of Mother Nature and the fruit farmers in South Carolina,...
Big News
On Sunday, the last full day of our vacation, an email with the subject line “ET Phone Home” landed in my inbox. The cryptic message from my sister said, “You and Hiram need to call Allen (HE IS FINE), no need for angst.” Immediately, I knew our son had one of two...
Busy, Busy, Busy
Did the gap between blog posts have you wondering if the Philos took a wrong turn on vacation and disappeared? Well, rest assured we arrived in southwestern Washington exactly as planned. During our three day stay, we relished civilization’s fast, reliable internet...
Camp Photographer, No Sweat
Though we’re not at Family Camp any longer, I wanted to share a photo taken during Friday night’s jumping-off-the-top-deck-of-the-cruis-boat-highest-cannon-ball-splash-contest. I took hundreds of action shots, hoping to get a few good ones, and ended up with this one...
Dirty Business
This morning, after breakfast and hugs all around, we left dear family and camp life and drove down our side of the mountain into the real world of newspapers, cell phones, and Wi-Fi. But we carried out more than we carried in. Anne packed the birthday present her...
Mountain Climbing, Berry Picking, & Dogs in the Women’s Bathroom
The end of Family Camp is drawing near. Two couples left this morning, with more families, including ours, heading out tomorrow. But Monday and Tuesday were crammed with excursions possible only in these mountains. A hardy crew consisting of four members of our...