Saturday 30 June 2012

Every day should be a holiday, 2038

Round 33: December 2038 (Summer)
last update/next update

David Sitko is 56 and Kirstin is 54.

(Charlie is 26, Camilla, Lila and Connor are 25, Sebastian is 22, Adelaide is 20 and Grace and Everett are 8)

Narrated by Kirstin Sitko

Sometime last year, David and I decided that two people living in a five bedroom house was more than a little ridiculous. So we sold it and we bought this house instead.

For me, the major draw was the front garden and the covered porch, which is just so charming.

I have a stressful job, so I sometimes like to and enjoy the peace and quiet for a while. Now that it’s so warm, I’m so thankful for that shaded spot.

For David, it was the huge fireplace in the study that finally sold him on this place. I find it a bit ostentatious, to be honest, but David absolutely adores it.

He loves to just sit by it and read. It’s never lit now but once it starts to get cooler again, David will have it going every night.

I’m glad we made this move though. This is the first place David and I have ever lived where we didn’t need to consider the desires and needs of anyone but ourselves.

The whole place is just perfect for us and it didn’t take us long to settle in.

Last Christmas, we were still in the process of moving in and the idea of doing anything at all for Christmas was out of the question. We all ended up cramming ourselves into Camilla and Charlie’s unit instead. This year though, David wants us to host.

Personally, I’m not thrilled about it. I wish we could just go visit the girls at their own homes and save us all the trouble of hosting anything elaborate.

But the girls will want to see each other on Christmas Day, as well as us, and for that, a gathering here makes the most sense. So we're holding Christmas here this year.

I shouldn’t complain too much, because David’s planning on doing all the cooking himself. His brother and his sister are both chefs, so he picks up a lot of cooking tips and recipes from them.

He enjoys it and I don’t, so I just leave him to it.

I took on the task of doing all the Christmas shopping instead, which I quickly regretted. It’s like everyone forgets how to move through a store without getting in everyone else’s way.

I just about got into a fist fight with one woman over a Water Wiggler for Grace and Everett. I won, of course.

David thought I was a bit nuts when I told him about it. He said I should have just left the store and bought one online.

I thought he knew me better than that! I’m too proud to be able to walk away from that kind of situation. Once I got into it with this woman, I knew there was no way I was walking out of that store without a Water Wiggler!

Grace and Everett were thrilled with it though, so at least it wasn’t all for nothing.

We set it up for them in the backyard so they could use it right away. Adelaide and Sebastian quite enjoyed splashing around with the kids as well.

David and I have offered to keep the gift here at the house for the twins, until Charlie and Camilla find their new home. Hopefully there, they’ll have a backyard big enough for running around under the sprinklers.

They've been looking around already. David was sure to mention a couple of lovely houses for sale in this very street.

He’d love it if they moved right in across from us. Me, I understand if they want to move a little further away. David and I lived with my parents until they died and it wasn’t always easy, especially with Mum. She was as stubborn as I am!

Likely, Camilla and Charlie will stay in Sullivan though. Charlie is often on call for work and the fire station is nearer to here. He doesn’t like the idea of being woken in the middle of the night and having to drive for over half an hour to get to work.

Connor and Lila want to move in together within the next couple of years and David is quite excited about the prospect. The way he sees it, that’s the first step on the way to marriage and babies.

David has really been missing having babies in the family. Grace and Everett are growing up so fast.

He’s convinced there will come a day when they’re too cool to hang out with their old grandpa.

Connor and Lila are in no rush for kids though. I can see a lot of myself in Lila and I wasn’t ready for kids until I was almost 30.

And then when I found out we were having twins, I wondered if I was really ready after all!

Lila is hoping the fact that both Camilla and I had twins was just a fluke and that twins don’t really run in the family.

I thought it was best not to remind her that her grandmother was a twin and her dad is also a twin, with another set of twin siblings to boot. Twins could well be running through our genes!

Adelaide doesn’t always bring Sebastian around when she visits but his family did their celebration on Christmas Eve, so this time, he came along.

I haven’t always been thrilled about Adelaide’s relationship with Sebastian. I think, at times, she’s been too wrapped up in him, to the exclusion of all else.

I may have to concede defeat on that point. They’ve been together since she was 14 and she’ll be 21 next year. Adelaide hasn’t always made the best decisions but she and Sebastian seem to be very happy.

I didn’t talk to Sebastian much at Christmas but David did. I don’t know what they were talking about but they were getting along better than they have before.

Perhaps Adelaide and Sebastian have both matured a little. Adelaide does seem to have made some changes in her life. She’s trying much harder with her classes and has pulled her GPA up to a 3.2.

That’s certainly not a wonderful average but it’s much better than I feared she’d end up with. A year ago, I was worried she’d flunk out completely.

I can hardly even express how relieved I am! If she keeps it up, she'll actually graduate this time next year.

I wish she’d take a similar attitude to figuring out exactly what she wants to do with this eventual degree but I probably shouldn’t push too hard on that.

There was no room for us all to sit down for lunch, so some of us had to stand, including me.

We could have gone to sit in the living room but I guess none of us wanted to be left out of the conversation!

David took care of absolutely everything and I didn’t have to lift a finger. It made the whole day stress-free for me. If he wants to do Christmas this way again next year, he will get absolutely no complaints from me!

Extras:

This one just cracks me up, because it looks like making fun of her grandma and Kirstin isn't too happy about it!

Notes:
  • End of the round! Yay! I've already started doing the birthdays and will finish them off hopefully today. You guys wait until you see Beau Hamilton - he is absolutely adorable!
  • This house was one I did for two challenges - the garden was for Here We Hoe at The Sims Daily and the actual house was for February's Build a Box challenge at N99. It was nice to kill two birds with one stone. And I'm inordinately proud of the garden on this lot.
  • Adelaide has been doing pretty well at uni. She was rolling a lot of Fortune wants, so I ended up giving her that as a secondary. In turn, that's meant she's been a lot more likely to roll study wants. So she and Kirstin are getting along a lot better. They were rolling lots of wants for each other during the visit.
  • And I know I always say this but again, tons of romantic wants from Connor and Lila. Sims everywhere want to know their secret! They're a high two bolts but I have never had a couple so into each other!

22 comments:

  1. Yay! I can't wait for the next round with all the ROS's and now I am all excited about the birthdays too. I can't wait to see Beau now you've said that, but its no surprise with his parents. I saw that house tour at N99 and its absolutely gorgeous throughout. I love that little porch idea too *steals*. I'm glad Adelaide and Kirstin are finally getting on a bit better and that Kirstin is also accepting her relationship with Sebastian more. Connor and Lila just seem so suited to each other so I'm glad they are so into each other! I'm with David-more marriage and babies! Haha I love that last picture, Grace doesn't mind standing up to her Grandma does she!

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    1. I'm chugging along finishing the birthdays at the moment, so you guys won't have to wait long to see them. :) Probably Monday, my time.

      I'm glad you like the house. I'm happy for you to steal the porch idea, because I stole it from someone else a long, long time ago anyway! I saw the picture years ago and snagged it for future inspiration.

      I'm going to have to do the careers criteria thing on Adelaide to see what she'd be suited to. Kirstin is hoping she'll pick something nice and stable and well-paid but we'll see. Kirstin seems to get along okay with Sebastian these days, so maybe they've just had enough time to get to know each other now. Ditto David.

      Connor and Lila are one of my favourite couples, I have to say. I would love to see some babies from them but one step at a time. We'll find them a house to live in first. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Looks like Christmas was a lot of fun and kudos to the chef for doing it all, I'd love that type of gathering where I do nothing :)

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    1. Kirstin is extremely spoiled. She's a high maintenance kind of woman but she's lucky David is normally so happy to oblige. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Heh, their relationship reminds me of me and my husband. (Except he'd do the shopping too since I get so bloodtirsthy.) I always enjoy holiday updates, it's so nice.

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    1. LOL! I wish I had someone to do my Christmas shopping for me! I don't get bloodthirsty but I do get extremely irritated!

      I like doing the holiday updates too. The words usually come pretty easily, so it's a nice break for me. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. What a great holiday update! It's nice to see Kirsten and Adelaide getting along. And good to see Sebastian too. I can't believe how long they've been together. Maybe they're just meant to be afterall! Love this house and garden! You did a great job with the whole package!

    Loved the pics of the kids, and that is a lot of twin action! I sorta hope they all have one set of twins! ;)

    Looking forward to seeing little Beau!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Adelaide's always been a little rebellious but she might be growing out of that now. It's a huge relief for Kirstin. Sebastian's been hit with a dose of reality when he didn't become a huge rock star the second he finished uni, so he's matured a little along with Adelaide.

      I'm really glad you like the house and garden. I'm very proud of this one, especially the garden. I never do landscaping but I'll have to make the effort more often.

      I'm kind of hoping the same thing - twins for all the Sitko girls! I don't think they'd share the same dream but it'd be totally adorable, lol.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. I loved seeing these 2 in their new house! I've been looking forward to seeing them in it ever since you posted the tour!

    It's really sweet that David wants his daughters close, and that he's looking around for houses nearby. I doubt the girls think it's sweet though :)
    It's good to see that Kristin and her youngest daughter are getting along beter now, and I'm glad Adelaide is working a little bit harder for school too.

    I have a WCYF, I was wondering where you for those stone borders/low fences (I really don't know the name) that are around the flowers and plants in the garden.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. David and Kirstin seem quite happy in their new place. It's so big and it's hard for me to believe their old house was so much bigger than this one!

      Camilla probably thinks her dad is being quite sweet and Lila has always got along pretty well with him, so she might be quite tolerant of it too. Adelaide would probably find it a little smothering though, even though she has a better relationship with her parents now than a few years ago!

      I'll have to check in game for that stone border and hope it has some info on it! I have no clue where I got it, off the top of my head.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    2. Okay, the stone border is by SimAddict99 at TSR. The set is here.

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  6. Their secret? Lila is smoking hot pixels! LOL! I am never letting that go. It amuses me too much. ;)

    I LOVE that last picture. It's adorable!

    I really enjoy these types of updates, where the family gets together. It always makes me feel like I need to do more of that. It's a bit more difficult in TS3. Sims randomly leave for no reason at all, which is annoying. And there's no mod that just pulls whatever sims you want to the house or makes them selectable without switching houses. Sigh! I miss being able to do that at big parties.

    The frustration on Kirstin face in that first shopping photo made me laugh aloud. As someone who works retail on black Friday, I know that face ALL too well. Here in the States, Black Friday is SERIOUS business!

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    1. Haha, Lila really is quite hot! That alone could probably at least explain Connor's intense interest. ;)

      And yes, that's one of my biggest complaints with TS3. :( No teleporter and no way to ignore the fact that the Sims need to go to work. That open neighbourhood isn't all it's cracked up to be. I hear people saying they could never go back to TS2 because there's no open hood, but that is the first thing I'd redesign in TS3. It makes a lot of things I do with TS2 absolutely impossible.

      Ha, Kirstin did that face on her own, which was kind of hilarious! I think our equivalent of your Black Friday is probably Boxing Day. I have never been shopping on Boxing Day (or worked retail) and I truly hope I never have to! People actually get trampled sometimes!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. It makes sense that they would move to a smaller house as empty nesters. The Christmas gathering looked fun! I loved that last picture, too!

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    1. There was just no way I could have thought of ways to repurpose the four empty bedrooms, especially seeing they already had a home office downstairs! So a new house it was. Having a family to decorate for helped me figure out exactly what I wanted to do with the challenges too.

      The last picture is still making me giggle, lol. I'm glad others like it too.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I like the house! And I'm glad the family gathering went to well! Will the gang gather back at their house next year?

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    1. I think David and Kirstin will probably do Christmas again next year, though I'm hoping Charlie and Camilla's new place will be big enough to host it too. But that'll be off camera. ;) I think the Christmas update for 2039 will be with Aaron and Calvin. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. I've said this before but I really need to do a Christmas party. But right now, since all but one of my families are small, I can get away with not doing anything for a while yet. I can't see the whole house but it looks cute. I'm glad Adelaide and Kristin are getting along a bit better than they were.

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    1. You should! They can be a lot of fun but they do become more fun when you're a few generations in. I'd definitely consider it once you get to the point where your founders are grandparents though. :)

      I didn't link to the tour, because when I wrote the post, N99 was Membership by Approval and you'd have to join to see it anyway! But in the last few days, it's opened up and you can now browse without being a member. So the tour is here, for anyone who wants to see the whole place! I'll add a link above too.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  10. LOL I really like Kirsten. I wonder if my Alyssa will be like her when she gets that age. About to fight someone over a water wiggler lol! I need to remember that those exist! I have yet to use one. People get trampled on Black Fridays here every year, unfortunately. I remember someone died a few years ago at Walmart. I think it was an employee who was trying to hold the doors closed. Ridiculous! It's not that serious!

    Ha, I think Lila is pretty much screwed re: having twins! Wow, can't believe Adelaide and Sebastian have been together so long! Good for them! And good for Adelaide for pulling her grades up! Looks like a great Christmas for this family. Another fan of that last pic here! So cute!

    I don't remember if I commented on your tour but I love the house and landscaping!

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    1. Ha, time will tell, I guess! These 1-nice-point Sims often have some major anger issues! Your Black Friday sales sound similar to our Boxing Day sales (the day after Christmas). People have been trampled with those too. I'm not sure there's ever been a death but we've definitely had injuries. It's crazy!

      I'm very curious to see if Lila and Connor get lumped with twins! It does seem like there's a family history of twins here but then again, I also used to use that Fertility Benefit on everybody! Which works a little too well. Still though, neither Camilla or Charlie had that and we still have Grace and Everett with us. So we'll see.

      Adelaide's doing pretty well for herself these days, with Sebastian and her grades. :D Still have no idea what she's going to do for a job when she graduates. I usually have some clue but she might be a late bloomer to figure it out, like Maia was.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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