House 013 Chapter 3 < | > House 013 Chapter 5

First, we get a look at our goals:

House 013 Building Goals:
2 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom home worth at least $100k Simoleons
-Must include a designated gaming room
House 013 Generational Goals:
Achieve Level 10 of the Gamer branch of Tech Guru on Jax
1st place in Pro tournament for both Hillock II and Sims Forever on Jax
Achieve Level 10 of Start-Up Entrepreneur branch of Tech Guru on 2nd sim
*Note* All sims are Controllable in this house!
Produce and raise The Heir to the Young Adult life stage

Still busy with school, so goals haven’t happened. Yet.

Taking Sadie to the vet. She had turned elder before I could breed her, and that was not a good idea in my book. So I aged her down.

This is pretty much what I see all the time. Take a potion, do school work. Do school work, go to class, take another potion or sleep a little… Really boring game play!

They’re still living on the lawn, too.

Presentations for the LAST WEEK!! of school completed!

Tried to adopt a pet, but not ONE of the potential adoptees were male and small dog with decent markings. So I made one. Meet Sam.

Yay! Puppies?? .. Not yet, apparently.

It’s a terribly hot summer, so I build them a pool to cool off.. and Sadie is the first to use it. She LOVES this thing.

.. Finally!!

Welcome to the challenge, little Fidget! He’s got two different color eyes, and some really cute markings.

Chatting. Sister Tracy keeps calling and visiting, but we don’t really have time for her, unfortunately.

I decide it’s time to try to save some money. I have them make a Gardener and a Cleaner bot, which I’ve never used before, so this should be fun.

Then, the final term grades come in…. 🙂

(No idea why Adrienne’s portrait disappeared.

Finally!.. As a celebration/graduation present, I build them a big – and very empty – house. Outside pics to follow:

House 013 Chapter 3 < | > House 013 Chapter 5

Chapter 1.7 | Chapter 1.9

The Diversity Experiment – Chapter 1.8

We start our triumphant return to posting more than just build and CAS posts with finally bringing out the last saved pictures I have for my Rebuild save. I’ve been missing these guys so much, so I’m excited to get back to playing them.

Anyway, our header image is McKenzie once again trying to catch Aleki’s eye, this time with a rose. To both McKenzie’s and my surprise, he accepted it.. so I pushed the issue.

… And McKenzie ended up with her first kiss and her first real crush. Who knows, maybe it’ll also be her last. Because at this point, I’m pretty much thinking she’s out of the running for heir.. and I’d like her to be happy when she moves out, you know?

Here’s where things get a little crazy in this post.. because I have McKenzie romancing her new beau on one side of the map.. and little Luke trying to finish his Social aspiration up on the other side of it. I remember I was going a little bit insane at the time trying to zoom back and forth in between the two of them.

Luke was being dramatic and telling stories to this lady, and she was going to be the last friend he needed to make.

Meanwhile, the closet was definitely rocking. I love the way the hearts roll out from under the closet door.

I then sent her and Aleki off for some more tame fun on the family’s new ping pong table.

I’m not sure who won, because the game went on forever, and I had them just give up on it. McKenzie was definitely on a roll, though, and decided they would be the first ones to actually try out the deck hot tub.

Aleki looks like he’s as into McKenzie as she is into him. He’s definitely giving her the side-eye in this photo.

… Zoooomm… and Luke finally gets that aspiration complete with some Stargazing. I love that interaction, even if it seems a little bit cheaty because it’s so overpowered.

… More Zooming… and there’s more hearts popping in the air. Aleki then runs off to go home for the night, and Luke trudges home for bed, making it there after everyone else has gone to bed.

Harvestfest arrives the next day, and poor Iris gets shocked while trying to redeem the family from the failure with the Grim Reaper gnome (and he’s breaking everything in the house because of it!)

The next day, Iris is busy making a cake for Luke (you can also see that she has already finished the grand meal of ham on the other end of the counter…) Nobody seemed to want to wait for the meal, though, and they’re all snacking – well, Luke is being a good boy and doing his extra credit.

So, Aiyden tries instead.. and he, also fails. Adrian is blithely also snacking before the big dinner, as well.

Never fear, little Kassidy is still around. And still very cute.

Luke keeps talking up his fun times in scouts to his little brother Jaron (and no, I have no idea why they’re in their big sister’s room.)

I finally give in and let Jaron join scouts as well, because he seems like the sort that would definitely do that.

He immediately begins work on his badges, while his little sister Kassidy plays happily behind him.

McKenzie finds her guitar, and, despite being horrible at it, is jamming away. (Note that her terrible playing finally got rid of her little brothers, though..)

Aiyden takes some time out to play with his youngest, and she’s completely thrilled about it. Also.. I love the boat in the background of this photo…

Practicing the super secret Scouts handshake (omg this interaction is so cute!)

And, somehow, the cake that looks like it took forever to make with all the pictures in between when she started it and now… is finally done. Luke gives one last hug to his little brother, and then turns to become a teen.

3…. 2…. 1…. spin.. and…

Err… well, if he wasn’t completely out of the running with the Dog Lover trait.. that wild roll of randomness definitely doesn’t help him out.

… *Dies laughing* .. Nope. Nope Nope. That haircut is NOT going to work, Luke!

Post- makeover outfits. He still looks particularly worried in every shot.

Luke’s upgraded look. He’s not sure about it, but I definitely think he looks better.

Dinner. And everyone who snacked before dinner still shows up and enjoys the grand meal.

Especially our resident glutton, McKenzie. I really had forgotten she got that trait until she was busy scooping her dinner in like she’s got a shovel instead of that fork.

Even little Kassidy is enjoying her dinner.. which reminds me, they’re going to need a bigger dinner table… but we’ll get to that another time.

After the grand meal, I finally get around to giving Luke his room makeover. It’s not as drastic as some of the others have been, but I still like it.

Then, Since Adrian is the next to age up, I try to get him through some of his Mental aspiration, despite the glitchiness of never finishing games. Spoiler.. I get at least one of them done here.. so maybe there’s hope?

Luke gets going on his hobby of Vampire Lore.. and he looks like he’s shocked by what he finds. His fish, however, ignores whatever horrible fact he’s found out and just keeps swimming.

Homework party!! (While McKenzie is still eating…lol)

Oh! Guess what?!

We did it! Aiyden actually made it to the end of his aspiration without getting killed by the cowplant!!

Meanwhile, the teen that Luke brought home from school decides she wants to meet said cowplant. Luckily, it wasn’t hungry.

Luke starts his grand romance plan with a casual scary movie with his new friend, (I had to load the game back up just to figure out what her name was) Anika.

I leave this update with a close-up picture of Anika – who is adorable, and would very much make for some fun genetics. Which reminds me, I really ought to see about adding MCCC into this save so that the kids can have extended family when they move out. I’ll have to see about that next time I play…. which, hopefully will very soon, because I’m dying to get back to this family, and now that I have caught up with all their saved pictures, it’s time to play more! (I also need to remember to officially pick their family skill. I was leaning towards Logic because of the microscope print collection we got, but Knitting is also a possibility – because I just love knitting. I just need to stop waffling about it and PICK. What do you guys think?)

Chapter 1.7 | Chapter 1.9

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

Time for another update!

Luke heads off to scouts while Jaron plays with his food on the couch. Hopefully he doesn’t make a mess. At this point, Luke only has three badges yet to go, but I think all but one will have to be done as a teen. He’s not doing so well on his aspiration because my game doesn’t seem to be spawning kids for him to be friends with. Hopefully his little brother aging up will help him out on that one.

I have never really messed around with this thing, and have been having fun with letting the kids play against each other. Unfortunately, it also seems to be bugged like chess at the moment, and doesn’t want to let them complete the game. (GRRR EA!!)

Still no last Microscope print…

… But we did get this! Now Aiyden and Iris won’t have to take turns on it. It also means that Iris will get her last promotion when she has work next.

Just barely finished this one in time. I got her birthday notice and realized she was just half a point of creativity away from getting it complete, so I made her play with the dolls for a while. She didn’t seem impressed.

Time to see her all growed up. *grin*

Not terrible traits.. but I can’t say I’m a fan of the Mansion Baron aspiration. At least her hobby matches her trait!

Outfit tour. She had a short hairstyle, so I stuck with that idea, but went for some color for her. Then followed the hair color with her outfits colors. The white dress for party outfit was her idea, and I liked it so much I kept it.

Not sure I’m a huge fan of her genetics.. but I do have to admit, by the end of this chapter, she’s growing on me. Still haven’t decided whether she’s in the running for heir or not, though.

Her room makeover:

I gave her a guitar. We’ll see if I ever remember to have her use it.. LOL.

OMGosh, Aiyden.. I’m so sorry I forgot you were making candles! Poor fella didn’t make it to the bathroom in time, and I got the “no excuse” achievement for a bladder fail on a lot with 5 or more toilets. HAHA!

Jaron is so cute. He’s always getting attention from his parents and siblings, so I doubt social skill will ever be an issue for him!

After Luke gets home from Scouts, we have him take a trip to the Willow Creek park (that doesn’t really exist right now) .. but at least the fishing areas are there.. and there’s frogs to find. He finishes his Outdoor badge easily and heads home with his froggies.

It’s time! Silly little Kassidy…

… Is so adorable. Those big eyes and black hair instantly make her stand out from her siblings to me. We’ll have to see how she grows up.

Proof that we got the very last microscope print … finally! Aiyden found it for his wife, which means her aspiration is now complete.

For those with a squeamish trait: skip this next pic…

Apparently the meat walls can get infested with bugs and still be at “Normal” quality. EWWW. Spray those things quick, Iris!

I’m not sure what they were talking about here, but McKenzie’s expression was so funny I had to capture it. Jaron is, once again, inserting himself in “adult” conversations like he owns the place. (And Luke is cleaning up the dishes all by himself. What a kid!)

This is Aleki, the kid Luke befriended for his aspiration. He grew up, and I just had to see whether he and McKenzie would get along. They made friends quite quickly…

… But it seems he’s not ready to jump into a relationship yet. Poor McKeznie is so embarrassed about it, too.

After Aleki leaves, she drowns her embarrassment in learning to cook. Let’s be honest, though, she’s really not very good at it yet. I let her make her little brother’s cake.. and… well, let’s just say I wished @debjameswhite ‘s Lia was around!

.. Because it turned out AWFUL! Even Jaron looks a bit concerned.. and I didn’t let anyone eat it – for obvious reasons. Ew.

He’s perfect for Eco Lifestyle!

I went with a green theme for his outfits – and he picked the hair cut. I tried others on him, but this one just looked the best.

He gets the third floor room, which had been set up as a “guest room” until now, since the last person to stay in it was Iris back when she and Aiyden weren’t seeing eye to eye.

I like the way it turned out. It’s a nice getaway up there from the hectic family below.

Kassidy is trying to learn her skills, but with as crazy as five kids is.. I don’t know whether she’ll actually get to Happy Toddler like all her siblings. We’ll see!

Poor Aiyden is completely over me making him work on his Logic skill. He’s really unamused with me at this point.

… But at least he got results! Now he just needs to finish up fabrication skill for his aspiration. He (and me) are pretty tired of making candles.. but he’s only got a half point of skill left to go.

I leave you with a picture just proving that Aiyden is still grumpy. Especially in the mornings. (But it’s rare that the angry moodlet gets through all the other positive ones from having a happy family.)

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Yay! It’s time for Chapter 6 of my Diversity Experiment! Let’s see what trouble the Greenes can get up to this time.

Upon loading the game, I notice that it’s Love Day and Iris and Aiyden have yet to celebrate it. So, I rectify that immediately.

Luke and McKenzie spend some time chatting on their own while their parents are… otherwise occupied.

This family is so cute and loving with each other, I swear. That’s McKenzie in the background loving on her little brother Adrian.

It’s time for the next toddler reveal! (And, he’s a Charmer. I love that trait!)

Awwww! Those big eyes are so cute!

Later that day, McKenzie and Luke get home from school – and McKenzie is proudly sporting an “A” grade now!

Both Iris and Aiyden need Logic for their careers, so they take turns trying to get that very last microscope print I’m missing for Iris’ collection complete aspiration.

Oh yeah.. and it’s Monday – so it’s school project time. I love that they can chat when they’re working on them. This also reminds me that I have this HUGE unused open space on the second floor that I don’t know what to do with. *starts contemplating madness*

*drumroll* (While Aiyden looks horrified that yet another of his little babies are growing up.)

Geek? Hey, I don’t mind that at all. That puts him solidly in the running for heir, methinks.

His outfit tour. I did not change his hairstyle, despite the fact I was tempted. I wasn’t sure it looked “right” on him, but he did pick it. And the blue theme – was “his” idea. Most of his aged-up outfits were that baby blue color, so I went with it.

Iris is talking to her plants yet again….

… But it was all worth it in the end.

A close up of Adrian, whose first action was apparently to find the doctor playset in his sister’s room. Which reminded me I needed to give him his “big boy” room. And here’s where the madness really began. Instead of using the empty third floor bedroom like I had intended, I used that big empty space to throw in another bedroom for Adrian.

It’s all geeky and messed up, and of course – blue to match his outfit theme. I like the way it turned out.

What was the madness? .. Well, now that I have an extra bedroom…

… Iris announces she’s expecting again. Silly me!

Aiyden appears thrilled. Even Iris still seems enthused about the whole idea. We’ll see how happy they are when they end up with yet another toddler stage to go through.

Aiyden!!! NO! Do not eat the cake when I didn’t expressly TELL you to!

… Whew. At least he didn’t have the drained moodlet. So he’s safe. For now.

Homework party! Although Luke appears to be daydreaming instead of working. Can’t say as I blame him.

In an effort to work on Luke’s Social aspiration, I send them to the Community Garden to meet some more people. He then, of course, needed a BFF… and the closest relationship to that was his big sis.. so they’re now best of friends.

It’s time!! (I admit.. I sped through those last couple days because I was so excited for another nooboo, so I barely took any pics.)

Welcome to a little girl – Kassidy! On that note, I’m going to save the second half of the pictures I have for a second update. Which means I’ll actually have another update for you guys tomorrow!

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

Current Score: 110

All these kids are hard work! We start with an age-up. I’ve chosen to let Betty be our female Bad Apple, so the only things I’m going to know about her are the pops ups and pictures I take. I can’t click on her at all. (Which is a lot harder than I expected!)

Maybe Inquisitive will help her learn skills?? (Spoiler: it doesn’t…)

Betty: “But why, Mommy?”

Proof of Brycen’s toddler skills, +15 for three maxed skills. I don’t have a cake picture, because, as you can see, I was desperately trying to get him to all three maxed skills, and he aged up on his own.

Here’s his rolls.

… And a not-so-great photo of him.

Finally, a useful promotion for Brett. He’s actually starting to make decent money… which we can always use!

Brett sleeps through the baby again. Becca’s totally got this under control, though.

+30 for baby boy #2

Good boy, studying like he should be. Way to go, Brycen!

More toddler time! .. Apparently I didn’t think to take a picture of him at this point, but don’t worry, you will see him before he ages to child.

Both Brett and Brycen rolled whims to play in the leaves, so I had to buy some deciduous trees and make them rake leaves for the afternoon.

Time for Bridget to grow up!

Only two skills maxed, so +10 points.

Apparently, I’m forgetting all sorts of pictures, so I went back in to get her skills….

.. And a good picture of her as a child. She’s very pretty!

Proof that I grew a cowplant. I immediately put in in the family inventory. No way am I dealing with that. LOL.

Working on little Betty’s skills. Also: finally, a picture of her without her hat.

Time to start working on painting skill so we can get paintings of everyone on the wall.

Brett looks like he’s absolutely DONE with all these kids. Poor guy, if only he knew what was coming!! Also, Vlad stopped by, so I was working on Becca’s relationship with him.

Brycen and Betty working on their friendship.

Finally: the promised picture of Beckham as a toddler. Betty doesn’t seem to like him all that much.

Betty and Brycen are now best of friends! I then send them to the park so they can meet some other kids.

While there, we try out this skating thing.

I invite all the kids in the area to skate, and we have quite a party. Nobody’s very good at it, though, and I have a feeling everyone went home with bruised egos and backsides.

Can you find the toddler?? Betty has escaped. I have no idea where she was going, but luckily she came back soon after.

Brett’s Adult birthday…

Not time to go immortal yet. I’m still waffling about whether I’ll try for getting him to as old as possible before he goes immortal. And whether he’ll be a vampire or a spellcaster. Tough choices.

I get the notice that it’s Betty’s birthday, and I age her up ASAP. Because then she can take care of herself!

There’s her first trait and aspiration. Not that she’ll get anywhere on the aspiration, though, since she’s unplayable.

I had to go back in to get a decent picture of her, too.

Getting her to work on her homework with influencing. So glad for the Parenting pack!

Guess what?! Here we go again, another nooboo incoming!

Becca makes the family a Winterfest Grand Breakfast to wake up to. Everyone seems to enjoy it.

Then, everyone helps with decorating the tree (Except Betty, who is still choosing to sit at the table).

She’s apparently all-in on present time, though. LOL. Typical kid.

Note the smoke behind Betty. This will come into play by the end of this day.

Someone got coal … and she’s NOT happy about it.

Presents from Father Winter.

Poor Betty won’t get one. But Bridget does.

While everyone is filing off to their beds… Father Winter decides to fix the radio. … Why the radio, Santa?? Why not the house’s ONLY toilet that’s four steps away from you??

Becca finally gets a better present. Although I have no recollection of what it was. I probably sold it.

Naughty freezing toddler! Get your waddling rear end back in the warm house!!

He gets back in just in time for his birthday, and Betty’s nice enough to sing him a song while he ages.

Here’s proof of his skills. +15 again.

Here’s his rolls.

And his birthday pic.. that I apparently actually DIDN’T forget. Amazing.

Caleb does the whole vampire knock on the door thing, and I have Brett spend some time with him. Just in case I decide to go vampire, you know.

And, finally, the next baby is here. (Crossing fingers that it’s not twins!)

I know, the name is kinda similar to Beckham’s name. But it is the first one that came up and made me think of Pirates of the Caribbean. So I went with it. +30 for Boy #3.

New Points Total: 230
This includes parent milestone points, too.

Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

First thing I want to go through is the Sims 4 scoring, and the mini challenges I’ll be attempting since deciding to keep score is why I restarted the challenge for the third time…

Now that all that is attended to, I went in game and made two new founders with backstories:

I set the season to start at as Spring, and then absolutely could not decide on where to live, so I made my hubby choose. He picked Windenburg, and of the two big lots, I chose Dresden House. Kicked out the family and bulldozed the lot.. then moved the Braxtons in.. dropped their funds down to the 1800 Simoleons for a “Legacy Start” and we were officially ready to start.

First order of business: Have Becca quit her story-mode-given Culinary job. I plan on her being the stay-at-home parent.

I wasn’t really expecting the Teacher career for Brett, I was planning on going Tech Guru – but perhaps this will work out after all. So I have him start learning Research & Debate for work.

… And it begins. One of Becca’s first wishes was for a Bee Box, so there it is. Then she wants to water a plant. Which is a little tougher because .. it’s RAINING! We’ll have to wait and plant something quickly when the rain lets up.

After a while, one of them rolls a “Try for Baby” whim.. so we give it a try. (Spoiler.. it takes three tries to get the first baby on the way!)

Finally, baby success. She’s in her swimsuit because she wished for a pool. Took me a while to afford one, but she now has a 1 by 1 pool to satisfy her whim. Apparently it’s the new favorite place to eat meals and have conversations.

Geek Fest shows up, and, while Brett is at work, we have Becca go try to win a computer. She gets third place for 250, which isn’t too bad since she has no programming skill, but no computer.

The game contest gets her fun up, but she won’t be winning that one, either.

Ok, car that just went by: please come back and take away this half naked vampire!!

Uh-oh. Brett didn’t fix the toilet fast enough and Becca had an accident. Poor sweetie!

Yes, I got them a couch so they’d stop sitting in their suits at the pool so often. It only partially worked. Oh, and yes, I waited until the game gave us a bassinet for her to give birth in.

+30 Points! (Our first points!) Welcome, Brycen!

Yep, that means there’s another nooboo on the way. Also, if you’re looking very closely, we have our first roofed area: the baby’s room. I felt too bad having him out in the rain and cold.

Yay!! That Wild trait should be interesting, at least. Oh, and – It’ll be a bit before you get a good picture of him, since it’s pretty much always dark or raining. I do manage to buy them lights before he grows up, though.

The season changes, a thunderstorm hits, and we need a greenhouse to keep making money. So I enclose the plants, and send Becca and Brett inside to chat. Brycen apparently thinks it’s appropriate to talk to the bear during the storm, however. The stereo, the umbrella stand, and the bulletin board were all from whims.

Brycen: “Hey Mom, what are you doing??”

Becca: “ARRRGGGHHH!” (or something close to it.)

Also: the big circle on the wall is the thermostat that Becca wished for. Apparently she was getting cold. (Then stop getting in the pool, silly!!)

+30 more points. And welcome to Girl #1, Bridget.

Our last dark photo… because shortly after this, I finally get lights in the house! The highlights: Becca is pregnant again, the shower is filthy and Brett is still trying to get himself clean – and both Brycen and Bridget are sound asleep in the nursery. (For now.)

Finally. Meet Brycen! He’s working on his thinking skill.

Inquisitive isn’t too bad. Maybe it’ll help her skill faster?

Poor little girl is filthy and not happy about it, though. I have one of the parents fix that asap.

Nooboo # 3 incoming. And Brett sleeps through the entire thing. Which means he’s running around like a fool in the morning getting ready for work, which was hilarious.

First B name that was offered to me. I guess it’ll work. Perhaps I’ll make her the female bad apple?.. Or should I wait for a better house to do that in.. HMM

Oh, yeah.. and Becca is pregnant again.

We leave you with a picture of the three current kids in the “living room”. (Well, it’s more of a whole house room, but whatever. At least the parents finally have their own bed and aren’t out in the tent anymore.) We did manage to get through the tent phase with only one big scare – lightning hit the tent with both of them in it and burnt the tent to a crisp, but neither were harmed. Thank goodness. Took a while to replace the tent because we were out of money.. but that’s how this whole thing works!

Total Points currently: 110
90 from babies being born, 20 from parent aspiration milestones.

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6

Welcome back to the Diversity Experiment and the Greene household. We left them in the middle of Winterfest (not sure why I quit then.. but okay, lol).. so I immediately sent the family to open their gifts (except for poor pregnant Iris, who was in desperate need of a nap.)

McKenzie puts on a happy face – she loves her new doctor playset.

Luke is so cute. Look at how excited he is!

Later, after that much needed nap, Iris meets up with Father Winter for her present. Most of them were sold for family funds, but I think the kids’ presents were both saved for them in inventory.

Flying Luke! Iris and Aiyden are constantly tag-teaming with the kids, although Aiyden seems to be doing the bulk of it now that Iris is about “ready to pop”.

Speaking of.. she has a little boy at home, and I chose the first name it suggested, because I liked it. This is Adrian. I did not think of how close it was to Aiyden until later, when I kept trying to call the poor boy his dad’s name. Oops. Too late now!

Then, it was time for the first child birthday. Poor McKenzie looks very worried about it.

However, she didn’t need to be worried. She got a good trait.

I had initially been thinking of making McKenzie identify as a boy, but after perusing the outfits she had “chosen for herself”, I completely ditched that idea. She was very clear to me on the fact that she’s female – and she loves colors and her collection of bright shoes. *grin* So here’s what we went with. I have to confess, it’s one of the few times I’ve actively put a hat on a sim, instead of taking it off immediately.

McKenzie was NOT impressed with baby Adrian, however. Hopefully he’ll grow on her.

Here’s her room all made over:

I put a lot of thought into it, and I like that it reflects her personality. She is an art lover, after all.

Playtime with the Greenes. Little Luke is still unsure about the slide, so mama was helping.

It’s that time again… only this time, as I was editing the pictures, somehow I COMPLETELY missed taking any pictures of poor Adrian. He’s not being neglected, I promise! I went back into the game and got a shot of him to stick here:

.. He’s really quite cute. I have elected not to give the toddlers makeovers, they aren’t toddlers for very long, after all.

McKenzie decides to be the first Greene to pick up Knitting, and she seems to really enjoy it.

She comes home from school Monday with the traditional weekly school project, and Iris gives her some help. (While Adrian plays with the dollhouse in the background. This is apparently the only shot I actually took of him during gameplay.)

Surprise!! I couldn’t resist. I changed the walk in closet that never made sense to me on the first floor into a bedroom and shrunk the size of the master bath to make room for it. I have to wonder, though, if Aiyden is as “into” the idea as Iris and I were, though, his reaction was clearly mixed.

This is what happens when I try to make my sims make school friends. This is Aleki – and he ends up playing quietly by himself while poor McKenzie crashes. She was too tired to play for more than a few minutes.

Uh-oh. As much as I love Luke, that Dog Lover just might disqualify him from heir-hood. I really had no plans to get a pet for the next generation.

However, I LOVE his style. He’s adorable… and he could change my mind if he keeps up the cuteness.

I pretty much spent all the rest of the money they had saved up on decorating his room, though.. so it’s definitely time for Mom and Dad to get back to work. They’ve both finally got their skills up to par and are getting promotions, though, so money shouldn’t be too bad of an issue.

Look at this cutie! How can I resist?!

Aiyden takes the chance to present one of his ideas to his pregnant (and hungry) wife. She didn’t seem impressed, but it gave him his daily paycheck.

Yes, I had Luke join Scouts. And he’s playing with the block table before bed on his own, which is so cute. Usually my sims completely ignore block tables.

We finish this update with a nooboo. (Hopefully just one!) … and I was lucky. We get a little boy that is named Jaron.

Iris then makes herself a coconut cake (since SOMEONE – points at Aiyden accusingly – stole a piece from the fridge. I immediately told him I hoped he munched on a candle. =P ) and ages up to adult. I didn’t want to “forget her birthday”.. and she was quick to taste the frosting. Perhaps she knew I was going to take the cake away for a later date immediately after the birthday. Maybe Aiyden will even leave it alone. Maybe….

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6

Chapter 1.3 | Chapter 1.5

The Diversity Experiment – Chapter 1.4

So… we ended the last chapter on the two of them sitting by the pool reading.

… We start this one.. with Harvestfest bringing us an invasion of garden gnomes. We appease all of them because Iris can always use new seeds.

I decide we should save up an essence for the next time it wants us to drink one for work. Little Moo doesn’t seem to mind the meal.

Iris decides to get all flirty, so she drags Aiyden to the bathroom to help her clean up.

I then realize they have some 15k in the bank, and I haven’t done any building in a while… so I do some upgrading. Here’s their new open plan dining area. (They’re eating a grand meal for harvestfest – it seemed appropriate to get them an actual table to eat it at!)

The living room gets a facelift, as well, with some color changes.

The breakfast nook becomes an impromptu garden area.. because why would they need two tables to eat at?

Oh yeah… and there were consequences to the shower romp. *wink*

With his new job, Aiyden gets the ability to “grow” meat. Weird, but.. okay then. The “Massage” interaction is one of the creepiest things I’ve seen in game.

Upgrading the dryer for safety reasons. We don’t need any fire accidents.

Despite being lazy, Iris seems to actually be a good mother. She is almost always the first to make it to the bassinet when McKenzie starts crying. (Also: I realize I spelled McKenzie’s name wrong in my last chapter. Sorry, sweetie!)

Flying baby!! (Screenshots of baby age-ups crack me up… I had to include it.)

Inquisitive, huh? Nice.

Squeee! OMG She’s adorable!

Proof that Iris actually cleans on her own sometimes in my save. Also: I adore that kitchen shelf.

Poor Iris. This pregnancy has been really rough on her. I find her in the bathroom after nearly every meal.

Aiyden lets me know it’s that time. But since I don’t want to leave McKenzie home alone or send her to daycare, I have him stay home for the birth. Iris assures him that she’s got this.

Iris? You going to wait for the doctor to get in the room? .. Nevermind. I guess not.

Welcome baby Luke! I had the hardest time picking his name. I randomized for about 15 minutes before I just picked my own name that was a variation on one of the ones that had popped up while randomizing.

We arrive home.. to snow? .. Okay then. Everyone has to run outside to “react to first snow”, which always amuses me.

I find McKenzie reading all by herself in her room after a nightmare. Apparently she didn’t think waking up the parents was necessary. (Immediately after this photo, she starts chewing on the book. I was so startled I didn’t think to take a picture. I’ve never seen a toddler do that in the sims before. I guess that’s one way to be inquisitive? LOL!)

Winterfest arrives, and Iris and Aiyden move the coffee table in favor of a traditional tree.

The night before, Aiyden rolled the “Try for Baby” whim, so I indulged him. This was the result.

Welcome to toddlerhood, little Luke!

Based on that smile, he’s definitely a Charmer, alright.

First thing he does: head out to the back porch nobody uses to play in the snow. Too funny.

He then runs stumbles back inside to give his big sister a huge hug. Next time: Father Winter … and another baby on the way. Wonder what it’ll be?!

Chapter 1.3 | Chapter 1.5

Chapter 1.8 | Chapter 2.1

Point check:

Total Points: 225
Self Wetting: -20
Pass Out: -95
Failing School: 0
Negative Traits Earned by NTHs: -5
Accidental Deaths: 0
Fires: -10
Social Worker Visit: 0

Single Birth: +5
Twins: +10
Triplets: 0
Any sim in the household completing Any Aspiration Milestones (Child and Adult): +150
Any sim in the household completing Aspirations (Child and Adult): +40
Toddler Skills maxed by NTH toddlers: +40
Skills (Child and Adult) maxed by NTH family members: +10
NTH children (Child and Teen) earning an A in school: +30
Positive Traits Earned by NTHs: +30
Happy Toddler Trait Earned: +15
Top-Notch Toddler Trait Earned: 0
NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E): 0
Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation: 0
Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation: 0
Every 100,000 simoleons earned: +20
Immortalizing the Torch-Holder: +5

So, I have 9 days left to play in this generation. Seems like forever, but I’m sure I won’t get a huge amount of pictures from it.. (going to be a lot of fast forwarding and knitting, methinks…) In other words, this will be a short chapter.

We start off with Fetia’s first haunting. Aww, we miss you, girlie!

Then, she decides to leave us a crappy painting. Um.. thanks for trying? (At least she finished it..)

This paparazzi thinks it’s newsworthy that Jesse had to spray graffiti for 2 hours. I mean.. I guess??

Jaxson ages up to adult, which means he’s allowed to be kicked out of the house. I waste no time in finding him a new home in Sulani, and assure him his brother will be joining him within the week.

Jesse spends a lot of time knitting. He unlocked all the toddler onesies and made two baby onesies for Coty. This is a shot of Coty being thoroughly happy about the gifted onesies.

Jesse maxes his knitting skill, but I’m not sure he’ll get the aspiration done.

I keep forgetting Coty is a Glutton.. and then he does something like this. And I remember. Why did you guys pick him again?? LOL.

Tyson, if it’s so awful, WHY are you eating it? There’s plenty of non-spoiled food in the fridge, I promise you….

Coty, dear.. no fires, please. You’re a big boy now, and should know better! (Spoiler: no fire.. whew)

Jesse needs to teach someone to knit for the aspiration.. so Coty gets roped into learning the.. er.. strings? LOL.

… This is his first reaction. Not sure it’s because he has to pee.. or because he’s thoroughly confused. Could be both. Knitting isn’t easy…

-5 … Really, Coty?!?! You couldn’t walk 30 feet to get to the house to find your bed? Again, why was he picked?? (J/k you know I still love you, Coty..)

And… drumroll… This generation is officially OVER! Right after blowing out the candles, Coty proceeds to tick me off by stealing a piece of cake before he can put new candles on for his brother. Sigh.

And.. since I can’t control Jesse anymore.. Coty gets to cook it.

Finally. We kick out the last spare. sorry, Tyson, but Jaxson is lonely out there. =P

Jesse’s last action, his only free action as an elder: retiring. And just in case you’re not paying close attention to the pictures, it’s Harvestfest, too. We’ve been invaded by gnomes.

… Which brings us to the end of this chapter. I take some screenshots for posterity of Jesse’s stats:

I will stick my nose in here to mention: I COULD have used all Jesse’s points to buy youth potions and passed them down to Coty… but I didn’t want things to be “too easy”.. so Jesse gulped down his last saved-up potion moments before Coty aged up (so maybe he’ll get to see his first grandkid..) .. and I never spent any of Jesse’s points on anything but youth potions. All but one of them were drunk by him, too. (The last one burned up in a fire, if you remember. RIP.)

Time to count up points.

Self Wetting: -20
Pass Out: -100
Failing School: 0
Negative Traits Earned by NTHs: -5
Accidental Deaths: 0
Fires: -10
Social Worker Visit: 0

Single Birth: +5
Twins: +10
Triplets: 0
Any sim in the household completing Any Aspiration Milestones (Child and Adult): +155
Any sim in the household completing Aspirations (Child and Adult): +40
Toddler Skills maxed by NTH toddlers: +40
Skills (Child and Adult) maxed by NTH family members: +10
NTH children (Child and Teen) earning an A in school: +30
Positive Traits Earned by NTHs: +30
Happy Toddler Trait Earned: +15
Top-Notch Toddler Trait Earned: 0
NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E): 0
Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation: +10
Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation: +10
Every 100,000 simoleons earned: +60
Immortalizing the Torch-Holder: +5

For a grand total of… 285!!! (I thoroughly expect to start off the next Gen by losing a good portion of those. It’s the way ISBIs go!) Anyway.. despite the lure to start the next generation right away, I will probably wait until the next time this story comes up in the posting rotation to start. At least, that’s the plan. (LOL)

Chapter 1.8 | Chapter 2.1

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

The Diversity Experiment – Chapter 1.3

Time for my next update. I spent a whole lot of time grinding out these two’s skills, especially Fabrication for Aiyden, but I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures of it. It was pretty boring, let’s be honest.

So you’ll have to deal with this one..

.. and then this one. Apparently changing the Maker Space (which Aiyden doesn’t need anymore because he has all that stuff at home) to a Garden made the place all Green and stuff. While I was busy grinding skills, I almost missed that Sharing is Caring was going into effect, and I had to hurry to vote for something, anything else. Because.. no. That NAP is too buggy.

Fall hits for them, which was my personal cut-off for skill-building.

… Which means it’s NOOBOO time!!

Now that Aiyden got his level 7 in fabrication, I splurge and let them buy a Juice Fizzer. He still needed one more Freelance Crafter Gig completed for the last tier of his Aspiration.

The next day… Iris is supposed to drink a cowplant essence for work. Uh oh. I hadn’t saved any up.. and she can’t sacrifice herself because she’s pregnant. So it has to be Aiyden. Sorry, buddy.

… Right into the pile of laundry that Iris manages to leave EVERYWHERE.

.. Never seen a potion of “Daze” before… Iris makes a face at it.

And then wishes she’d said “no” when I told her to drink the stuff.

Aiyden: “Honey? I have a surprise for you.” ….

Iris: “Hm?? Oh, that feels great, Aiyden..”

Aiyden: “I quit my job.”

Iris: “Wait. WHAT?”

Aiyden: “But look – I have a new one. And it pays more.”

Iris: “Why didn’t you talk to me about this before now?!”

Aiyden: “I didn’t want you to talk me out of it. I got my 5 gigs done for my aspiration, and I want to make a bigger difference in this town.”

Iris: “….” (Both go to bed.)

Both are grumpy-morning sims, so Aiyden decides not to bring it up again.

When he’s done eating, he gets a start on tomorrow’s work for his new Civic career, and Iris grouchily finishes her breakfast and gets back to work on her Gardening and Logic skills.

The next morning… mere hours before both are supposed to be at work.. labor pains start, and Aiyden immediately panicks. He drags his complaining wife off to the hospital, citing the fact that they never bought a crib for the baby as reason to go.

Iris: “Wait.. Doc.. I don’t think that’s my baby…..” (Flatline)

Doc hurries up and puts the heart back in. Aiyden misses this and has wandered off to play computer games.

Finally, The doctor figures out what he’s supposed to be doing, and our first little girl, Mackenzie, is born. Was the first random name that popped up, and I liked it.

I get everyone home, find the baby in the crib, and then wonder where in the heck Iris is going. Apparently I never got the pop up for “whether to go to work or not” and she was like “Ok, done with this morning” .. and left the baby screaming to go to work.

Aiyden dutifully calms the baby, making himself late for his first day of work in the process, then regretfully sends his little girl off to daycare and goes to work.

After work, the two are sent to read some skill books.. and they both choose to sit around the pool. I have no idea why. Perhaps it’s safer out there? I mean, the baby is sleeping. Wouldn’t want to wake her up, right?

(And this was when I noticed I had played right through dinner time and it was nearly bedtime. LOL. So that’s where this update ends…) See you next time!

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4