Wednesday 20 June 2012

White moon

Round 33: October 2038 (Spring)
last update + wedding update/next update

Charlie Benton is 26, Camilla is 25 and Grace and Everett are 8.
(Tate is 68, Zelda is 63, Jack and Audrey are 26, Marcus is 9 and Jacinta is 8)

Narrated by Charlie Benton

Life didn’t really change much for Camilla and me after our wedding. We have the same jobs, same home and we still spend most of our evenings at home with Grace and Everett.

Even so, we’re glad we got married and made everything legal. It’s not practically different but there’s something about it that feels different. It’s nice.

We do have a lot more money these days though, due to my trust fund kicking in last year. We’ve mostly been sitting on it but we decided to use a little on something for the family.

The kids have been keen to go to Cape Elizabeth ever since Camilla and I went there for our honeymoon. Camilla and I still talk about how great it was and I guess they want to see it for themselves.

It sounded like a great idea to us and seeing we both had a little vacation time saved up, we booked some airline tickets and off we went.

We stayed at my parents’ holiday house for our honeymoon but we opted for a hotel this time.

It was a new experience for the kids, so they loved it, especially room service. Grace loves trying new foods, so she was in heaven.

Everett is more of your typical kid and would eat French fries and burgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner if we let him but the room service at our hotel catered for all tastes, so he loved it too.

Staying right on the beach was a definite perk! Everett spent most of his time hunting for “treasure” in the sand, while Grace built sandcastles all up and down the shore.

Camilla did some sunbathing on the first day but I decided not to risk falling asleep. I was lucky I didn't burn on our honeymoon!

We had the kids to supervise this time around anyway, so someone had to keep their eyes open.

Camilla was wishing she’d stayed awake herself by the end of her session.

I had to touch her very carefully for a while, seeing it was a pretty nasty sunburn.

We spent plenty of time seeing the sights. I don’t think the kids realised it was educational at the same time!

Grace and I were also at the souvenir stand for what seemed like hours, while she picked out a present for her best friend, Jacinta.

Jacinta was impressed though, so mission accomplished.

Everett wasn’t too interested in bringing home any souvenirs, other than what he found in the sand, but he’s been enjoying bragging about it to his friend Marcus.

Marcus is a little older than Everett and has been to Cape Elizabeth “tons of times” and he usually ends up interrupting any time Everett wants to brag.

Everett likes Marcus a lot but I know he gets frustrated that nothing he does is ever as good as whatever Marcus has done.

For the most part though, they seem to get along well though, so I’m leaving it alone.

Lately, I’m realising how quickly the kids are growing up. I was reading Grace a bedtime story the other night and wondered how long it’d be before having her dad read to her is too babyish.

After all, Everett gave up the bedtime stories a while ago when he decided he was old enough to put himself to bed.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing, because the twins are still a lot of fun as they’re getting older.

I’m really proud of how they’re turning out and proud of Camilla and myself that we did a pretty good job with them, even being younger than most parents.

I’m just feeling kind of sad at the thought of stopping here. I’d really like to have at least one more child.

Now to convince Camilla, who is so far not going for it.

I’ve never had the experience of living with a new baby in the house. When Grace and Everett were babies, they lived with Camilla and her parents while I was living on campus. I saw them as much as I could but it’s not the same as actually being under the same roof.

Camilla is not really on board. She just remembers being 17 and struggling with not one but two newborns and isn’t keen to repeat the experience.

There’s no guarantee we’d have twins again but even if we did, it’d be different this time. We’re older, more experienced and we’d be doing it together this time.

But Camilla is happy with our family the way it is and is really reluctant to change the status quo.

Seeing she’s the one who’d have to carry this baby, I'll have to respect that. It doesn’t mean I won’t hold out hope she’ll have a change of heart though.

We do agree on one thing though and that’s that it’s time for us to buy our own home.

We weren’t planning on moving any time soon but our last family get-together at Jack and Audrey’s new place pushed us in the opposite direction.

There’s plenty of room for us all in our current place but there’s so much more to it than space. Right now, the shared walls mean we need to be more conscious of noise than we’d need to be in our own house.

It’d be nice to be able to have big family dos at our place. The kids especially love the chance to play with their cousins.

And being able to paint the walls, put in carpet or pull it up if we want and just have more control over the place in general would be really nice.

Camilla and I are both over paying rent, so we figure that seeing we have the money, why not start looking around? Jack is especially enjoying that perk of home ownership.

Dad is already offering his advice on the current real estate market, which I’m not quite ready for. We’ve barely even looked at what’s out there.

Camilla is really excited already. She was discussing decor ideas with Mum, for the home we haven’t even chosen yet.

I’ll probably just let her go nuts with the decor. She’s the aesthetically-minded one in the family, not me.

As long as our new place has everything we need, I’ll be happy. I’m really keen to start looking now.

Extras:
A couple more pictures of Audrey and Jack's new place, which is finally in a playable state. ;)

Don't mind that white frame! I have to pose another pic of Jack and Audrey to put there. ;)

Poor Camilla got heatstroke on top of her sunburn and ended up very, very red!

And of all the things to miss about living at Azure Court, I think Everett will miss the spiral staircases most of all. The cat will not. ;)

Notes:
  • Title is from White Moon by the White Stripes.
  • Just briefly, because I'm feeling really sick right now and just want to get this finished. Charlie rolled the want for another baby and Camilla has not. I'm not expecting her too, seeing there's no Family aspiration at play here. What I do think is interesting is that I've taken them off BC but they haven't tried for a baby once. According to their IFS, they both want more kids but they don't seem too motivated to actually try to achieve that. So I'm interpreting that as Charlie not being quite able to convince Camilla and deferring to her on this issue.
  • And yes, I'll hopefully have moved these two into a new place by next round. I'll try to find a four bedroom place for them, just in case they do try for #3! ;)

18 comments:

  1. Jack's place looks great, can't wait to see more and of course to see Charlie and Camilla new place as well. Poor baby, big Marcus has done so much more, hopefully it won't be a big issue.

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    1. I'm excited to decorate a place for Charlie and Camilla - it's always nice when a family has plenty of cash to spare and I can nuts with furniture!

      Charlie has a feeling Marcus hasn't really done that much more than Everett and he's right. He's taken exactly one trip to Cape Elizabeth, just like Everett. Marcus is just a bit of a show-off! I should have made that clearer in the update!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Aww those kids are so cute! I'm so sad Camilla doesn't want another but maybe she will change her mind. They are still pretty young so they have plenty of time. The holiday looks so fun with the kids playing on the beach. Poor Camilla with her sunburn and heatstroke- I've never seen a sim that red! I can't wait to see their new house and Jack and Audrey's house looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing more of that! Haha that picture of EVerett on the stairs is hilarious. I didn't notice the cat at first...

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    1. They're still really young; it wasn't until I started putting together the update that I remembered how young. I was thinking they were 27 and 28. But yes, Camilla may change her mind and they still might try for a baby yet. We'll see.

      I'd never seen a Sim that red before but it's probably how I'd look if I spent much too long in the sun! I'm rather pale.

      Everett didn't see the cat either. Oops!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Oooh, I will be curious to see how the game handles their baby situation. I do hope they have another one! The twins are too cute. ;)

    I can understand them being over paying rent. I, myself, am over paying rent! Unfortunately, getting a house in RL isn't as easy as the sims, so I just have to live vicariously through them. Don't you just love moving sims into a new house? It's so much fun.

    I really do love the feel of Jack and Audrey's new digs! Very nice.

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    1. I'm hoping Charlie and Camilla have another too but I'm not too hopeful. They woohooed so many times but they didn't try once. But hey, they're not on BC, so I might get an oops baby anyway!

      It would be really nice if moving was as easy in real life as it is in the Sims! Moving Sims is so much fun, as long as they have plenty of cash. When they don't, it's a little less fun. ;) I hate working within a budget!

      I had to get some pink into the house for Audrey, without making it look too girly for Jack, which was a challenge. I actually completely redid the kitchen minutes before I invited everyone over. It was a lot pinker before! Glad you like it.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Jack and Audrey's new home is beautiful, can't wait to see more! I'm with Charlie, I want to see more cute kids from these two! But they're only 25 and 26, they have plenty of time to have at least one more :). I had a friend like Marcus growing up, and she's still an overexaggerator lol. But that's just part of her personality I guess. It'll be interesting to see their friendship as they get older.

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    1. There are still 3 more bedrooms in Jack and Audrey's place that I need to decorate. I'm not totally sure what to do with them, seeing they don't have kids yet! So I can play it but a lot tour will have to wait until it's completely done.

      I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Charlie and Camilla will have another kid. She has plenty of fertile years left ahead of her, so I might end up with another even if they don't try. It's happened before with them, after all!

      Oh, I think we all know someone who likes to embellish the truth a little! Marcus may grow out of it...or he might not, like your friend! Everett might start getting a little more cluey about it, so the embellishments may stop having the intended effect. Time will tell.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. I had to do a mondo catchup.

    The kids are both too cute. I remember how fun vacations were at that age, and being able to brag to your friends when you got back.

    I personally would love for them to have another child, but I understand Camilla's hesitance. Here's hoping, though.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I never really got to go on family vacations when I was a kid, so I kind of live vicariously through my Sims in that respect! Grace and Everett really enjoyed everything.

      Oh, you and me both! I would be over the moon if Charlie and Camilla had a third. She's not so keen though, so we might have to pray for an accident. Or you know, that she'll change her mind. Whatever works. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. Really enjoy jack and Audrey's place from what I can see of it. I do hope Charlie can convince her to have another baby. I think he should have the opportunity to live with a newborn baby. Poor Camilla getting so burnt up! This couple has really done well together, and I'm looking forward to seeing their new house when they find one.

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    1. Thanks, I'm glad you like Jack and Audrey's place. I'm thinking of posting a picture of one particular part of their living room on N99 and seeing what others might do with it. I'm a bit lost and it's a huge empty space!

      I would love Charlie and Camilla to have another but if she never comes around to the idea, he's not going to push her. I do think he'll be quite sad to give that dream up but he'd definitely defer to Camilla in this case anyway.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. I really was expecting these 2 to announce that they would be welcoming a new baby soon. And I think their families would have been happy with that news as well. I do understand Camilla's doubts though. I can't imagine it being very easy having the raise twins when you're only 16 years old, even when you live with your parents! Maybe she'll change her mind one day, there still is plenty of time!

    I can't wait to see more of Audrey and Jack's place! It looks great so far. I hope Charlie and Camilla find a place of their own soon.

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    1. I was hoping to be able to make that announcement too! I was kind of surprised Charlie and Camilla didn't try but they woohooed several times and didn't try once. We'll see if Camilla changes her mind. I hope so.

      Oh, yes, I need to put a house for Charlie and Camilla on my to-do list! I'll never remember otherwise. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. What a cute little family! I hope Charlie is able to convince Camilla to have another baby, but I can't blame her for being skittish on the subject! I look forward to seeing them in a new house.

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    1. I'm hoping Camilla does a 180 too. Her experience of the twins' first year was very different to Charlie's, so she's naturally a little more nervous. It would be a whole new ball game this time though, with Charlie by her side every single step of the way, so I have my fingers crossed. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. Oh, I love the look of Jack and Audrey's place! Gorgeous decorating, as always! I look forward to seeing this family's new home, whenever you pick it! I'm with Everett... I love spiral stairs (but not for the same reason he loves them lol)!

    I say it every time but I really love Grace and Everett. And I like how their different personalities are starting to show a little more now. It is too funny and cute seeing Marcus and Everett interacting with each other. I can imagine Marcus will be one of those who likes to one-up someone's story all the time.

    I'm always for more children, especially when they're as cute as the twins, so I agree with Charlie! But, I can definitely see why Camilla is a little hesitant. It's been 8 years since they've had to deal with babies and they'd have to start all over and their first experience wasn't ideal!

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    1. Thank you! I'm still deciding if I need something extra in that big blank spot I was talking about but it's kind of nice having some empty space where Sims don't have to squeeze past each other to get by. So I may end up leaving it.

      Grace and Everett are at a fun age right now, I think. I'm starting to get a good feel for what they're really like. I think Everett is the tolerant sort and will probably put up with Marcus's elaborations on the truth indefinitely, just because he otherwise likes him a lot.

      Hey, I agree with Charlie too! But sadly, Camilla needs to be on board with it too. There's still a chance for that, I guess, as well as the chance of a risky woohoo baby. Charlie is off BC (Camilla isn't allowed BC), so you never know!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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