Saturday 28 August 2010

Love is all

Round 28: Summer 2028
last update/next update

Finn and Victoria Romilly are both 27, Declan is 7 and Caitlin is 5.
(Trent is 58, Megan is 56, Claudia is 27 and Lila is 15)


Narrated by Victoria Romilly

Over lunch at my parents house, Mum invited me, Finn and the kids for a weekend away at their holiday house in Three Lakes.

I'm pretty sure she asked in front of the kids on purpose, so I'd find it harder to say no. It worked too, because Declan and Caitlin's eyes lit up.

They both love outdoorsy stuff and they love seeing their grandparents, so they started begging me to say "yes" straight away.

A whole weekend away with my mother isn't exactly my idea of a holiday. It's been much better between us recently but I still wasn't sure about spending so much time together in close quarters. Things could go pear-shaped.

Mum was so keen for us to come though and I try to take any olive branches that she's willing to offer, so I agreed.

So on Saturday, we all piled into the shuttle and headed for the airport.

I think it actually went pretty well, all things considered. Mum and I had some stress-free mother-daughter bonding time, which was nice. And sort of rare, with my mother.

Mum definitely still had her moments, when she'd start to nag or complain about something or another. I think she'll always be kind of like that. It's just the way she is.

As long as she's not criticising me, or Finn, I can live with that. She's much better with Finn now, thankfully.

It's been a long time since Mum has said anything bad about Finn and she actually listens to him when he talks now. Finn has always tried so hard with her and I'm so relieved that she's finally giving a little.

Finn and I have only been together 14 years. It's about time we were all able to sit down to a peaceful meal together.

The kids loved the whole weekend. Just the fact that they could play outside is a novelty for them, seeing our apartment building doesn't really have an area suitable for that.

There was plenty there for everyone to do. Finn and Declan spent forever looking at these tree rings.

Finn tried to explain to me exactly why they were so interesting but I'll leave that kind of thing to him!

The kids loved the log roll. We could hardly keep them off it.

Caitlin got a little discouraged, because Declan kept winning. He's just a little bit more co-ordinated than she is.

Caitlin is very determined though and eventually, she got one over her brother. She was so proud of herself.

They were both just happy to hang out with Mum and Dad though.

I think the most fun they had all weekend was when Dad taught them that silly slap dance that's native to this area.

The giggling from that went on for quite some time.

They wore themselves out completely and put themselves to bed right after dinner.

Then they woke up at 5am the next morning.

If Caitlin's shrieking didn't wake us up, Declan's loud shushing sure did!

We got up but we decided to sneak in a few more minutes of peace in our room, instead of going out to face the day.

Mum and Dad were sleeping upstairs and they didn't hear the kids, so Caitlin went upstairs to remedy that.

She and Declan just had to have pancakes!

And they got them too, because Mum and Dad both tend to indulge Declan and Caitlin's every whim, when we let them.

We were quite happy to let the kids be spoiled a little. It kept them occupied while Finn and I got some time alone. Mum and Dad took the kids out to sight see and we got the house to ourselves.

Or we got to go out and Mum and Dad watched Declan and Caitlin back at home. We don't get to do anything together without the kids that often. So despite my initial misgivings about the trip, I'm really glad we went.

I ended up being sad to leave on Sunday afternoon. We really had a great time.

I wasn't too pleased when I noticed the extra kilos I put on either. Must have been all those pancakes.

I went straight back to work on Monday. It almost felt like I'd never had a break at all.

Especially being that I had to work with my assistant-who-never-really-assists, Lila. Occasionally, she'll make herself useful but she seems to have a problem with authority.

My authority, anyway. Maybe it's because I'm young or not scary enough.

I'm just glad I only have to put up with her for a few hours a day.

Finn must be sick of hearing about Lila but she really gets to me some days and I have to get it all out or I can't sleep.

Finn knows all too well what Lila is like. He taught her for two years in when she was in primary school and it doesn't sound like she's changed much.

Most people have their parents pestering them for more grandkids and Finn's parents are already at us about that but we have Declan on our backs too!

He is desperate for a little brother or sister and he asks about it all the time. Finn has explained to Declan that a little brother or sister might be something we'll consider a few years down the track.

Caitlin has started to ask about another baby as well, so I've had the same conversation with her.

Finn has finished his master's now, so we have that out of the way, with the possibility of a raise for him pretty soon. But we're still a long way from being able to afford another kid.

I'm dying to start trying and it's so frustrating to have no idea when it'll be a possibility, if ever.

Finn wants a third child too but he's more optimistic than me. He keeps trying to assure me that we'll be okay and we'll be in our own house within five years.

I hope he's right! We really need more space around here. The kids have to do their homework on the floor because we've got no room for a desk in their bedroom, let alone two desks.

They don't really mind...for now. But there's going to come a time when they want their own bedrooms.

They're both such great kids and they're so close. It would be hard not to want another one!

I hope Declan and Caitlin stay close as they grow up. Claudia and I did, but we're twins so we have that extra bond between us.

Since I had Declan, Claudia and I have been in pretty different places in our lives but I think she might be starting to catch up.

Claudia put marriage out of her mind after getting a little obsessed with it for a while but she's just starting to think about it again.

I think she's trying to stay cool about it but I can tell she's getting excited again.

I'm kind of excited for her; I've been wondering when Jacob's going to propose!

Sometimes I imagine how nice it would be if they got married and then we ended up pregnant at the same time!

Claudia has to keep reminding me not to jump the gun, because they're not even engaged yet. I know that but I still can't help getting a little excited!


Outtakes:


(click to enlarge)
Oh, I'm glad you think so, Caitlin! I love when the pop-ups give kids such adult things to say!

I'm sorry, this is the last picture I'll post of my Sims doing this. Maybe...

At one point, Athena joined the girls in the hot springs. Megan and Victoria were rather unperturbed about it but Caitlin seemed quite distressed! She doesn't like seeing old ladies in their swimsuits, maybe? LOL.

Just chillin' out. Kindergarten is so tough, so Caitlin needed to get away!

I just like this picture because it makes the house look way cooler than it actually looks in game! The house is Copper Ranch Retreat by EA (comes with BV, already placed in Three Lakes) but I extended it so I could have two storeys. Trent and Megan have a ton of money, so it didn't cost much.

I don't know what Declan is talking about here (it's Caitlin behind him talking about ghosts) but he is so excited about it and the nanny looks like she's ready for someone to shoot her.

Notes:
  • Title is from Love is All by The Rapture, which is a really adorable song.
  • Please ignore any discrepancies with Victoria's weight in this update! She gained weight on vacation, which is fine but I took some of the pics at the beginning after they got back but forgot to bump her weight back to normal!
  • Additionally, sorry about the numbers in the corner of a few of these pics. I had testingcheats on at one stage and forgot to turn it off before loading the next lot.
  • Finn was the Sim who rolled the Family Vacation ROS this round. Finn and Victoria are trying to save for a house though, so I temporarily moved them in with Victoria's parents (again) and had them go to the Kirby vacation house instead. I don't consider it cheating because real families do stuff like this all the time. I didn't want to muck around with that "guest" thing either - that's annoying.
  • Caitlin and Declan woke up every morning with the want to eat pancakes, which was cute to me, so I had to write it in.
  • They also both have the want for a new family member, which is quite rare, at least in my game. The last Sims I remember rolling that want were James and Naomi, right before their parents got married. So that was about 45 years ago, Sim time! Finn and Victoria also both want a baby and Henry and Araminta are after another grandchild. So the whole Romilly clan is fairly keen! And I am too, because Declan and Caitlin are so adorable and I'm dying to know what a third would look like.
  • This was my first session with Community Lot Time and I loved it! I don't think I'll go back to playing without it. It makes going to community lots just that little bit more realistic. I liked rushing back home so I could get the kids to bed at a decent hour and I imagine I'll find even more I like about it as I go on.

18 comments:

  1. Declan and Caitlin are way too cute, they seem to know it and ham it up! I agree they need another one. I'm a little sad how fast these two are growing up. I hope they'll be able to have a yard someday when these two will still enjoy it.

    The family vacation was super sweet. I'm glad that things are looking up with parental relations. And I hope Claudia gets married soon.

    I just put the community time back in my game and I think I like it now better than I did before. I didn't have this computer back then and the empty lot drag was umbareable. So I'm glad u brought it up at n99

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  2. Oh, I love the pictures in this update. Those two (Caitlin and Ducan) are so stinking cute! I'm glad they all enjoyed a nice vacation.

    I can't imagine playing without Community Lot Time!

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  3. Such cuteness! I love Caitlin's outfit, it's perfect!

    I'm glad that Finn and Megan are finally on better terms and the vacation was very realistic and wonderful.

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  4. How nice of Megan and Trent to take everyone on vacation. Finn and Victoria definitely deserve a break from their everyday life.

    I really wish that Finn and Victoria have another kid. Declan and Caitlin are so cute. I love how close they are.

    I'm really tempted to try the Community Lot Time because everyone keeps saying how great it is.

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  5. I just love the sentence with '...only been together 14 years...' Totally laughed out loud at word ONLY. I am glad thought that the mum has eased up a bit and it looks such a fantastic vacation, made me want to escape somewhere nice. These kids are so adorable.

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  6. I adore Declan and Caitlin! They are so sweet! It's understandable that their grandparents give them their way in everything!
    It's nice to see that Victoria and her mother are getting a little bit closer.
    Trent teaching the children the slap dance is so aborable! They are having so much fun!

    Ah Lila, well Lila is Lila and will always be Lila! Victoria shouldn't let her get to her that way.

    Oooh, a new Romily-baby!!! I can't wait, and I now it's not in a couple of sim-years, but I'm so excited about it!

    You say you moved Victoria, Finn, Delcan and Caitlin in with her parents, did you place some one temporarly in their house untill they got back, or how did you let them keep their apartment?

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  7. Caitlin is one of my favorite sims of yours! I was wondering, maybe you could upload her, Josie and Matilda. Those three are just so beautiful!

    I have been using the community lot time for a few months, but I barely ever actually played with it. I started building Verre Tranquille a bit after downloading it, so the little time I actually played the game, my sims would stay in their homes. From the little I played with it though, it got added to my must-have mods for the Sims.

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  8. I'm glad they were able to get away, even if it meant dealing with Megan potentially being a grumpy girls. It's too sweet that the kids wanted pancakes every morning :)

    -jumps on the third baby boat-

    I don't have Community Lot Time, but I'm also tempted to get it now!

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  9. Thanks for your comments, everyone! Sorry I'm so late getting back to you!

    Maisie, well, all four of them want a new addition to the family, so I think I'm duty-bound to let them. And like you said, Declan and Caitlin are so adorable. But they definitely need a house first!

    gallowaytownship, I'm glad you liked the pictures. I took so many and I was some time going through them all!

    Community Lot Time is definitely a must have for me now.

    Apple Valley, Caitlin's outfit is a top and bottom and they are both recent items by fakepeeps7 at MTS. I think I have all of her stuff!

    I'm so relieved about Megan and Finn. I was getting sick of her constant bitchitude towards him but she was very nice this time.

    Sari, I know, right? I wish my parents had a holiday house and treated me to all expenses paid vacations!

    I'm building a house in game right now and I wonder if it might suit Finn and Victoria. Hmmm. It's 4 bedrooms but it's already $36,000 without furnishings! But it would be perfect for them, should they have another Declan or Caitlin (and they will, if I have anything to say about it).

    Definitely try out Community Lot Time! I'm really having a lot of fun with it.

    Speechless, yeah, Megan took her sweet time coming around to Finn. She was never all that fond of him when he and Victoria were dating in high school but then he knocked her up in her sophomore year of college and that was the last strike for Megan. I'm happy she's got over that now.

    Tanja, I know, I would probably spoil Caitlin and Declan too. Both kids wanted to learn the slap dance and I knew Trent knew it. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so adorable!

    Victoria's only got a few more years before Lila goes off to college and she won't have to see her again! I doubt very much that Lila will work in Oceanography when she grows up.

    I'm excited about these two having another baby too. But I have to be patient, and make sure they have enough money to move first.

    Yep, I moved Victoria, Finn, Declan and Caitlin into the Kirby house with InSim. They have a cat in the apartment who acted as a placeholder for all their stuff. :) I did the same thing for their wedding.

    Flit, thanks, I'm glad you like my Sims. I definitely won't upload Matilda, because she's not mine. I downloaded her from someone else a long time ago, well before I created Sullivan and I wouldn't feel right about it.

    As for Josie and Caitlin, I have recently been turned off sharing my Sims due to a couple of ingrateful people I've come across (and I'll stress here that if you're a regular commenter, it wasn't you!), so I probably won't be doing that too often any more. If I do ever feel like sharing them though, I'll upload them here.

    I can't believe it took me so long to install Community Lot Time. It's really a fantastic addition to my game.

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  10. Renegade, you replied while I was typing!

    Victoria is glad they went too. She's still cautious with her mother but she and Finn both like to take any sort of olive branch she'll hold out, to do the best they can to mend the relationship.

    Heh, a lot of people are behind the efforts for Baby Romilly #3. I get it. I'm leading the charge!

    I absolutely recommend Community Lot Time! Can't believe I used to play without it.

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  11. Declan and Caitlin are definitely favorites of mine! And I couldn't imagine playing without the community lot time in either! It just makes it so much more realistic and I love not having to play through days twice when someone visits a community lot. It's just a really great hack! I'm glad Victoria and Megan are getting along better. It was pretty tense there for a while!

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  12. Mizzgin03, you and me and at least a few others, I think! Declan and Caitlin are adorable.

    Megan causes a lot of tension between her and Victoria and Finn but she's calmed down now. Here's hoping it lasts!

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  13. That almost the whole family wants another child is pretty cute! Haha, especially that the kids want an addition. That seemed to happen pretty regularly in my own game, which always made me laugh. It was like, "really?"

    And Caitlin definitely made me smile this entry. Those last pictures of her relaxing in the hot spring, lol!

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  14. Lunar, how funny, because I hardly ever get that want showing up for my Sims! I wish it would roll up more often - it's pretty sweet!

    Caitlin may well be the funniest Sim I have ever had in my game. Everything she does is hilarious!

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  15. What a cute update. Declan and Caitlin are the cutest kids ever. Can't they just stay that way forever? :) I think that's the first time I remember seeing Megan with her hair down. When I browsed through a few pics quickly without reading the text, I thought Maia was there for a second lol. And I laughed at loud seeing Caitlins face in the hot springs, both pics. She's like "this is OUR hot tub old lady!"

    Good to hear that the community lot time thing is working for you. I read about it a long time ago and I didn't quite understand it and glad you asked about it at N99. I'll add that to my to do list.

    And I love those little vacation pop up messages. I'm glad Caitlin thinks it was worth every penny lol. I forgot to include a screen cap of Davina, Joel and Paul's vacation pop up message. I think Davina said that the trip was great (or whatever the phrase is) right as she was throwing up outside of the helicopter. It's like "yay! I love throwing up in public!"

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  16. Danielle, I'm feeling the same way, especially about Caitlin! I just want to freeze her right as she is. I love that hot springs picture.

    Megan with her hair down and Megan with PANTS! I see her with her hair down all the time, when she goes to bed, so that's normal to me. But pants? That kind of looked wrong!

    I didn't understand Community Lot Time until Anilyn explained it to me in Comments here! It's not really that complicated but I found it hard to get my head around it for some reason.

    Those pop-ups come at really inopportune times sometimes. I still remember Troy telling me he'd just had the best week ever while the Grim Reaper was taking his grandmother away right in front of him! LOL!

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  17. Hehe Yea. Sometimes you need someone to break it down for you, like how you explained how the new aging system worked. I was sooo lost until you broke it down with the examples.

    LOL Yea I disabled those weekly pop ups for that reason. It's like "aww, grandma died, mom and dad died, my dog died, but I had the best week EVERRRR!" *roll eyes

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  18. Danielle, LOL, glad I could help! I don't know what I thought Community Lot Time was before, but it wasn't this! I thought it would be much more complicated but it's very simple, really.

    I keep those pop-ups in because they crack me up! It's such a dumb, Sim thing to do. "My mother just died but I'm in platinum aspiration, WOO!"

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