Wednesday 13 February 2013

I'm keeping you


Round 34: January 2040 (Summer)


Jace Novak is 83 and Magdalena is 76. 
(Gordon is 44, Lia is 43, Maia is 38, Annabel and Georgina are 16, Gabriel is 13, Willow is 5 and Peter and River are 3)

Narrated by Jace Novak

Magdalena and I have been saving for a holiday for years and we’re finally in a position to afford one.



We were planning on visiting Cape Elizabeth and enjoying the beach but right before we booked, we changed our minds and decided on Three Lakes instead.

I was born in Three Lakes and lived there up until my mid-20s, when I moved to Sullivan permanently to be with Magdalena. But I've always wanted to visit again and Magdalena was keen to see where I came from.

As an added bonus, we’d get to escape the summer heat for a while. We've been avoiding it by staying indoors but it never gets very hot in Three Lakes.

Magdalena was excited before the shuttle even arrived. She had never even been on a plane before.

I didn't get really excited until we finally got to Three Lakes though!

The first thing we did was change into some warmer clothing! Maybe it’s because I'm an old man now or maybe I just forgot, but the place was a lot colder than I remembered!

Our hotel was on the main road but it still felt quiet and tranquil, just like it always did. I was glad that hadn't changed.

The air just feels fresher when you get away from the city.

Three Lakes has a lot of history that we were both keen to check out as well.

Magdalena and I aren't quite up for long hikes any more but the tour guide suggested a bird watching tour which might be more our pace.

That was a lot of fun. I definitely saw some species you don’t see in Sullivan.

There was even a place nearby that served lots of local dishes and I made quite a pig of myself with the flapjacks! Magdalena used to scold me about the way I eat but after almost 50 years of marriage, she’s resigned to it now.

We tried our hands at fishing too. Magdalena caught a rainbow trout, while I came away empty-handed. I thought I’d be a little bit more successful than that.

Still, it was nice to grill up the fish Magdalena caught and enjoy an early dinner.

We were happy to make use of the campgrounds’ barbeque but at this stage in our lives, we were relieved to have a comfy bed to go back to every night. Camping's not for us any more.

But we’re not so old we can’t throw axes with the best of them. Magdalena got a bull’s eye on her very first try!

Three Lakes makes a lot of money from the tourist industry, so there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy a little luxury.

I didn't really frequent spas and saunas when I actually lived there but it was nice to try something new.

We did quite a bit of shopping at the local markets too.

We've never travelled away from our kids and grandkids before, so we had to pick them up a few souvenirs.

As wonderful a time as we were having, Magdalena and I wanted to make it a short trip this time.

Maia is due with baby #3 any day now and we didn't want to be in Three Lakes if she went into labour.

Fortunately, we got back home a still-very-pregnant Maia!

Fortunately for us, anyway. Maia is more than ready to meet the baby and not be pregnant any more.

River’s always been the baby of the family, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts to the new little one.

Willow is excited. She was telling Georgina all about how she was too little to remember when River was a baby but she has big ideas about “helping” with this one. She’d need to be a little bit older to be truly helpful, I think!

I know that Annabel and especially Georgina were lifesavers for Lia and Gordon when Peter came along.

Georgina still is; Annabel is now more interested in begging her parents for a car!

It’s hard to believe they’re old enough to be driving but they are. They’re (hopefully) off to college the year after next.

Gabriel is growing up so fast too. He’s only 13 but he’s already thinking ahead to college. He knows he wants to study some form of natural science.

Lia says he also has a “sort-of” girlfriend, Bianca. Bianca is her friend Ione’s daughter and Lia has known her for her whole life, so she’s not too worried about them.

River and Peter are three now and they get along so well. Lia and Maia grew even closer while they were pregnant with the boys, so it’s sweet to see that passed on to the kids.

This baby will be our seventh and likely our last grandchild. I always wanted a whole little team of grandchildren and now we have that.

Maybe we will be lucky enough to live to meet our great-grandchildren too. Not many are but who knows what will happen!

Extra:


Probably the last sim I expected to see talking about sex (with her children right behind her, no less) but Lia was apparently feeling quite bold! My sims never used to discuss memories in Sullivan 1.0 - only interests - so I was pretty excited to see this. I noticed it a few times after this, so it is apparently going to be A Thing now. I'm quite happy about that!


Notes:

  • Title is from I'm Keeping You by Tanya Donelly.
  • This was the first time I'd been on vacation in this hood and all seems to be well. I just have the mountain destination attached for now, because Jace and Magdalena happened to roll the want to go there. I'll add the other two as I need them.
  • Putting these pics together though, I got all these ideas for improving Three Lakes. I'll have to write them all down so I can get to them one day. My main priority right now is moving all my sims back in. 
  • That hair you see on Maia? I have that hair on so many sims right now, LOL! You haven't seen them all, as they're not ones I've used in updates (except for Camilla but that's her actual hair, so she doesn't count). Elspeth and Sophie have it, Caitlin has it, Ruby has it. I'll change them all before I get around to playing them but this mesh is my current stand-in for "medium length straight hair"!
  • Annabel really does have the want for a car. She might want to roll the want for her family to move out of the bin first, then we'll see about a car.
  • Did you guys forget about Gabriel and Bianca? I sure did! I went and read my last school update to see what was happening with the teens and remembered they'd started flirting a little. Aw. 
  • Next time I play, I'm going to be doing the birthdays. :D So Maia's baby will be born, as well as Dominic and Leslie's twins. Dominic and Leslie still don't exist in Sullivan 2.0 but I'll get right on that. 

21 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see the new babies. I went back and read a bit about Jaces history, very interesting college lives they lived, lol. And why does Lucian seem fsmilar? Did he date someone recently? Never mind I think he reminds me of someone from Maisies blog, Millwood. I think Lorelias current boyfriend, Marshall

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I just had Maia give birth in game! :D Still haven't made Leslie and Dominic, so their twins are still a mystery to me.

      Oh goodness, I forgot all about Magdalena and Lucian! He probably seems familiar to you because he dated Rebecca Kirby for a couple of years. Dude must be old. Perhaps he's a Twilight-style vampire. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. I’m so glad that Jace and Magdalena finally got that vacation they’ve been wanting. It looks like they had a great time and got to enjoy everything the mountains had to offer.

    Yay for more babies! Can’t wait to see what Maia had and to see what Dominic and Leslie have. I’ll miss Peter and River as tots but I know they’ll be just as adorable as kids.

    I forgot about Gabriel and Bianca too. I might have to go back and reread last round so I can remember all of that fun stuff.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Oh, I believe you sent me your recolor of Maia's hair a while ago if you need it again. I probably still have it in my email or I can narrow it down in my downloads if you just need the name of the files.

      Delete
    2. It was a long time coming, so I'm glad I could finally send them too. Money has always been so tight for them. They got a big influx of money with the cash reward benefits from Jace's shop but they had to use all of it to pay off the loan he took out to buy the shop! But I think all their struggles, with everything, have made me love them more.

      I'm probably going to see if I have time for Leslie and Dominic to have their twins sometime this afternoon. I need a decorated house for them, just so it doesn't look so empty in the background! Once they have that, I can do the births. :)

      Gabriel and Bianca are three bolts but in this game, they haven't even met yet! I remember them being rather adorable together, so I'm looking forward to playing the Notts this round.

      As for Maia's hair, thank you, but it's actually the mesh I need! I probably have the recolours in my own e-mail but I remember telling you at the time that I had no idea of the mesh's file name. So if you do, that would be a huge help! Thank you!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    3. Those kinds of struggles really do make a couple more interesting. I didn't even realize that Magdalena had never been on vacation. So that made the trip extra special to read about. :)

      Maia's hair is Raon 52. It's a pay one so you'll have to get it from the booty if you want to redownload.

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    4. Thanks Dani! I'll track that one down and download for safe-keeping! I actually don't think Maia looks terrible with this hair but I'm already using it for so many sims right now, lol!

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  3. Carla it is good to see you back in story mode. River and Peter are so cute.

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    1. It's really awesome to be back with my sims again. :) I'm having a lot of fun with them.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  4. I'm glad Jace and Magdalena finally got to go on their holiday and Jace got to revisit some old memories... I'd forgotten all about the teens! I'm interested to see what happens between Gabriel and Bianca! Haha Annabel may need to wait a little while before she gets the car... Ooh can't wait to see the new babies in Sullivan :D

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I try to get all my former locals to visit their homes, eventually. I was happy to finally send Cara off to the island destination a round or so ago too.

      I really have to go back and read up on the whole Caitlin/Georgina/Brendan thing too, because I've forgotten how/if that was resolved. I've forgotten a lot! Gabriel and Bianca was a nice drama-free thing for me to be reminded of though. They were sweet.

      Annabel will be waiting a long time for a car! Gordon and Lia only had one car between them in Sullivan 1.0, so I can't imagine their first priority would be buying one for their 16-year-old daughter. ;)

      I'm writing up the birthdays post today. :D The twins are here too now.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Aw, this is one of the cutest couples in your hood, I love them together. :) It's great that they got to go on holiday at long last.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm glad others think Jace and Magdalena are as adorable as I do. They've been through a lot together, which does tend to endear sims to me. I like to reward my suffering sims when I can, so I was happy to send these two on holiday. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  6. Pregnant Maia is just too adorable, I can imagine her feeling very ready for the baby to be born! I saw on twitter that it had red hair! Looking forward to reading the next post.

    The vacation was really sweet, how did Jace come to join Sullivan if it wasn't for Magdalena meeting him/romancing him on vacation? I just assumed that she had met him on vacation and came home with him, I don't really know their beginnings I guess!

    I didn't even recognize the twins! And I totally forgot about Gabriel flirting! It's been a long time, looking forward to seeing what happens with all of them. Seven grandkids is a nice number, and I hope they are around for great grandkids too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Maia has never enjoyed being pregnant, though she took to parenthood better than I thought she would. Baby is most definitely a redhead, which I was thrilled with. :)

      I've yet to see if it will happen the same way in this new hood but in Sullivan 1.0, my locals and tourists would show up on regular community lots. So I believe Magdalena just met Jace downtown or something. I guess he was visiting Sullivan at the time. I think I wrote it in that way but I can't remember now! It was so long ago!

      Yeah, the twins totally need their hair back, lol. They'll have it by the time I play them. Well, Annabel will; Georgina might have a close approximation, as I can't find hers. I'm really keen to get back to them, along with Gabriel and follow their adventures. Georgina and Annabel's teen years are almost over!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    2. Hey, so you know, I just pinned Georgina's hair earlier today.

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    3. Oh, did you? Thanks for the heads up! I guess that solves my Georgina problem. :)

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  7. I'm really glad things seem to be going well with Sullivan 2.0!And I do hope they continue to go this way! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

    It's nice that Jace and Magdalena were able to go on a trip, especially since it was to Three Lakes, where Jace is from!
    I understand where you're coming from with having so many ideas to redo the vacationlots. I have a family on vacation on Twikii Island at the moment, and I get distracted by redoing the maxislots all the time!

    I'm looking forward to this new baby! Jace and Magdalena sure have a whole team of grandchildren! But never say never about them getting another one! Especially since I don't think Lia had planned to have her youngest so late in her life, who knows what will happen next :)

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    1. Thanks, Tanja! I'm keeping my own fingers crossed too!

      I like to send my sims back to their homelands (if they have homelands other than Sullivan, of course!), so I was glad Jace got that chance. But yeesh...Three Lakes is super-ugly. Or rather, some of the outdoor areas are actually quite pretty but the indoor areas are uniformly hideous. I've already moved a few things around in the Sky Vista but it's not exactly "made over" yet!

      The baby is now here and I am thrilled with it. :D And true...I never know when one of my sims is going to surprise me with a baby, so there just might be a grandchild #8 for Jace and Magdalena one day.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I'm so glad that Jace and Magdalena got to go on a trip. I remember how much they've struggled financially so it was about time they got a break from everyday life.

    They also have such cute grandkids. Annabel and Georgina are really gorgeous and all the other kids are very cute. I can't wait to see which one Maia and Ethan... luckily I don't have to since that's the next thing I'll read, lol.

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    1. Yeah, and not just the financial struggles but after everything they went through losing Tessa...it was nice to be able to give them something good.

      I love the genetics in this family. Everyone's genes seem to have mixed so beautifully and I'm so excited that Lia has passed Magdalena's eyes onto Annabel and Peter. Those eyes are a feature of one of my founders and it's so awesome to still see them around.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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