A few scenes from the vacation that wasn't

Such enthusiasm! Claire wanted so badly to get to granny and grandpa's last month, she nearly zipped herself in the suitcase.

Little did any of us know it would be three weeks before she'd be back.

You all know the story of the flu epidemic and pneumonia hospitalizations. We didn't take a whole lot of pictures. But here's a sample of what Paige endured. This was on her last day, a good day, after she'd opened her eyes again and stopped moaning.



Mom wanted to make sure we got a shot of Paige's IV, which she wore strapped to her arm for three days. By the final day she'd stopped fiddling with it.




At first, I had to gown up and put on gloves and masks each time I stepped into the room, lest the nurses kick me out. Paige thought I was one of them, coming at her with a needle or probe, and she screamed at the sight of me. Eventually, we gave up on the gowning.



After Claire's 104.7-degree fever subsided and mom's pneumonia stopped spreading and dad, granny and grandpa all recovered from their respective ills, we managed to have a little fun.