You say it's your birthday, March 2045

Round 37: March 2045 (Autumn)

Now that James Novak has fulfilled his promise to retire and both are at home full time, Madelyn is at him to take her away on vacation.

James could probably be described as a little cheap and at the moment, he’s not keen on spending that kind of money. 

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You say it's your birthday, February 2045

Round 37: February 2045 (Summer)

Now that Aaron’s mother Madelyn has reached retirement age, his dad James is fulfilling his promise to finally retire for good.

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Lucky now

Round 36: November 2043 (Spring)

Novak 4 household profile

Maia Novak is 41, Ethan is 37, Willow is 8, River is 6 and Wren is 3. 

(James is 68, Madelyn is 63, Nick and Aaron are 40, Sarah is 38, Connor is 30, Amy is 8 and Natalie is 6)

Narrated by Ethan Novak

For almost two years now, Maia has been working just the one job - running Rosa Lucida. 

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Sandpaperback

Round 36: February 2042 (Summer)

last update/next update

Novak 3 household profile

James Novak is 68 and Madelyn is 63.
(Eliot is 57, Maia is 41, Calvin and Aaron are 40, Ethan is 37, Connor and Lila are 30 and Wren is 3)

Narrated by James Novak

I’ll really miss Novak Motors when I finally let go of it but I do finally have some concrete retirement plans.

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The world at large

Round 36: January 2043 (Summer)

last update/next update

Clarke 2 household profile

Calvin and Aaron Clarke are 40, Amy is 8, Natalie is 6 and Curtis is 4. 
(James is 68, Madelyn is 63, Maia is 41, Ethan is 37, Willlow is 8, River is 6, Alex is 4 and Wren is 3)

Narrated by Aaron Clarke

Amy’s birthday is right after the new year, so we had a party for her here at home, with some of her school friends.

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Ready to start

Round 35: September 2041 (Spring)

last update/next update

Novak 3 household profile

James Novak is 66 and Madelyn is 61. 
(Aaron is 38, Ethan is 35, Connor is 28, Natalie is 4, Curtis is 2 and Wren is 19 months)

Narrated by Madelyn Novak

James promised that he would retire from NKL at the beginning of last year and just keep going with Novak Motors. He didn't end up making that decision until the beginning of this year. 

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Day in, day out

Round 34: September 2040 (Spring)

last update/next update

Augustin and Hanna Novak are 85, Naomi is 65 and Owen is 63. 

(James is 65, Eliot is 54, Amar is 39, Adrienne is 33, Malcolm is 30, Hope is 29 and Beau is 2)

Narrated by Naomi Novak

We woke up one morning last week to discover Mum had passed away in her sleep. 

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I'm a wheel

Round 34: May 2039 (Autumn)

last update/next update

Maia Novak is 37, Ethan is 33, Willow is 4 and River is 2.
(Jace is 82, Magdalena is 75, James is 64, Madelyn is 59, Evan is 50, Miles is 36 and Matilda is 33)

Narrated by Ethan Novak

After several years as a detective, I finally made it to Lieutenant this year. It’s involved a lot of hard work on my part but it’s all paying off now.

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Lucky now

Round 34: April 2039 (Autumn)

last update/next update

Aaron and Calvin Clarke are 36, Amy is 4 and Natalie is 2.
(James is 64, Madelyn is 59, Abigail is 56, Maia is 37, Ethan is 33 and Willow is 4)

Narrated by Aaron Clarke

Calvin and I really love watching Amy play with Natalie. We were a tiny bit worried that we’d get tantrums once she wasn’t the centre of attention any more but Amy has been great with her little sister.

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Rattled by the rush

Round 34: February 2039 (Summer)

last update/next update

James Novak is 64 and Madelyn is 59.
(Maia is 37, Aaron and Calvin are 36, Ethan is 33, Connor is 26, Willow and Amy are 4 and River and Natalie are 2)

Narrated by James Novak

Lately, I’ve cut back the time I spend at NKL to devote more of my energies to Novak Motors.

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Camellia

Round 33: October 2038 (Spring)

last update/next update

James Novak is 63 and Madelyn is 58.
(Maia is 36, Aaron and Calvin are 35, Ethan is 32, Connor and Lila are 25, Amy and Willow are 3, Natalie and River are 1)

Narrated by Madelyn Novak

Natalie is our youngest grandchild and it’s been so lovely getting to know her.

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Every day should be a holiday

Round 32: December 2036 (Summer)

last update/next update

Tate Benton is 66 and Zelda is 61.
(James is 61, Kendal is 60, Josie is 34, Troy is 33, Audrey, Jack and Charlie are all 24, Camilla is 23, Everett and Grace are both 6, Jude is 4 and Andrew is 10 months old)

Narrated by Zelda Benton

Tate has had his current car for over 25 years now and for Christmas, I got it in my head that I was going to buy him a new one.

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Waves of grain

Round 32: June 2036 (Winter)

last update/next update

James Novak is 61 and Madelyn is 56.
Maia is 34, Aaron and Calvin are both 33, Ethan is 30, Connor and Lila are both 23 and Willow is 8 months old.)

Narrated by James Novak

It’s getting very cold in Sullivan but that hasn’t dampened people’s enthusiasm for wandering around outside at a car lot. Business at Novak Motors is still booming.

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Halo

Round 32: September 2035 (Spring)

last update/next update

Aaron and Calvin Clarke are both 32.
(James is 60, Madelyn is 55, Abigail is 52, Maia is 33, Ethan is 29 and Rebecca is 26)

Narrated by Aaron Clarke

Calvin and I haven't been out on many dates lately but last week, we had dinner at Front Page Cafe, which is just a couple of blocks away from our new house.

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The delicate place

Round 32: April 2035 (Autumn)

last update/next update

Lila Sitko and Sophie Gottlieb are both 22.
(James is 60, Camilla and Connor are both 22, Elspeth is 21 and Grace and Everett are both 5)

Narrated by Lila Sitko

Sophie and I have been living together for a few months now and I think we've established a pretty stable routine. I sweep the floors, make the beds, take out the trash, do the dishes and any other chore that involves cleaning and Sophie sits on the couch and watches TV.

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The Novak wedding

Round 32: January 2035 (Summer)

Maia is 33 and Ethan is 29.

Given how desperate Mum was to see me get married, I was expecting a lot more butting in from her during the wedding planning process.

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You say it's your birthday, January 2035

Last year's January birthdays were kind of short but I think this year makes up for it, with a whopping 17 birthdays! 17!

First up are the 4-year-olds - there will be six new students for pre-school teacher Mrs Gray this year.

Daphne Kirby...

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Every day should be a holiday

Round 31: December 2034 (Summer)

last update/next update

James Novak is 59 and Madelyn is 54.

(Maia is 32, Aaron and Calvin are both 31, Ethan is 28 and Connor is 21)

Narrated by Madelyn Novak

Since his classes are finished now. Connor has been back in Sullivan helping James out at the car lot. He's mainly been doing the books though; Connor has no interest at all in sales.

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Under cover of darkness

Round 30: July 2032 (Winter)

last update/next update

James Novak is 57 and Madelyn is 51.
(Lake is 75, Kendal is 56, Max is 45, Aaron and Calvin are both 29, Ethan is 26, Audrey is 20 and Connor is 19)

Narrated by Madelyn Novak

James and I caught up with Kendal and Lake over dinner the other night. James can be a bit tight with money sometimes, so it's been a while since we've been out to eat.

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The Clarke-Novak wedding

Round 30: February 2032
Calvin Clarke and Aaron Novak are both 29.

Narrated by Aaron Novak

Calvin and I set our wedding date in February, knowing it would probably be extremely hot on the day, so we decided on an indoor, air-conditioned venue.

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