Friday 25 December 2009

Save it for a rainy day

Round 10: Spring 2014


Ryland and Jackie Whitfield are 63 and Dawn and Zach are 10.


Narrated by Ryland Whitfield

There's not a moment of silence in our house. The kids are always making some kind of noise. I guess in a few years it'll be slamming doors and playing bad music too loudly so I'm just happy to hear them play cops and robbers now.

Dawn is really enthusiastic about cooking. We even got her a children's stove and she bakes these huge muffins with it. They're quite good actually.

Zach doesn't care much about cooking. He used to be obsessed with the piano but nowadays he mostly practices on the minigolf system or draws on the activity table. I've tried to encourage him to paint on his easel but he says that crayons are much more fun than watercolors.

They both enjoy swimming in the pool. It's been pretty cold spring but the kids sprint from the door to the pool in their swimwear. We only let them swim if someone is supervising them.

One night I found Jackie snoozing in the recliner and the kids had long gone inside the house. She said she just thought she'd closed her eyes for a minute.

Jackie cooks breakfast everyday but we hardly ever eat together. It feels like the kids are always running late and by the time we get them out of the house and into the schoolbus it's already time for me to go to work. So she ends up eating alone almost every morning.

The restaurant is doing really well. Jackie's been transforming it slowly into a more family-friendly place since there's already a romantic restaurant, Joie Délicieuse, nearby.


People love coming there for lunch or just to get a cup of coffee and some cake. The restaurant is only open during the day except on special occasions. Jackie says that she can't stand all day by the stove anymore. I think she's wishing that one day Dawn will take over the restaurant since she loves cooking so much.

I'm running for mayor for the last time. After this I'll leave the office for someone younger. I feel that I've done enough for this town and it's time for someone else to take charge. I want to enjoy my family while I still can. But since I'm still running the place, I intend to do a bloody good job.

Denise was just chosen as the chairwoman of the city council. She's also on the school board so she deals with lots of students who are applying to Brixton Academy.

We often have a discussion after workday. She has great ideas about how to develop the town. I'm hoping that once I retire, she'll take over.

It feels like Dawn and Zach have grown so tall overnight. They're not exactly our little babies anymore. They only have one year left in the elementary school after this one and then they'll start highschool. Where have all the years gone? I guess I have to enjoy these last moments seeing them play cops and robbers. Soon they'll be bringing home boyfriends and girlfriends!

Notes:
  • Title from "Save it for a rainy day" by The Jayhawks
  • I've had these pics uploaded for some time so I thought it was about time to write the update since I had a few spare moments before my brother's family comes over for a nice family meal.
  • In Finland we mostly celebrate Christmas on the 24th so after that it's all about overeating, reading the books that "Santa" brought to you, taking naps and in my case, simming. Also it's currently about -26C/-15F outside so I'll be spending a lot of time inside the house anyway.

8 comments:

  1. He has his plate full, huh, in fact the entire family does.The twins outfits are so cute.

    Wellington, you have quite an eye for imagery-your images are always so crisp and clear. I want to zoom in and take a seat in your homes and walk around your hood.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks AV, I'm glad you like the pictures. I take a full screen caption, then resize and sharpen it in PSP. I got a new videocard in the summer and it made a real difference. I only sharpen them because the resizing makes them a bit blurry, they would look pretty much the same if I didn't edit them at all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hmm, is that the secret? I know nothing about picture editing but I've noticed that my pics sometimes look a tiny bit blurry when I make them smaller, which didn't make sense to me. Maybe I'll try sharpening.

    Anyway, Dawn and Zach have grown up so fast! I guess they'll be teens next time we see them? You age them up at 12, right?

    If Denise is Chairwoman, is she going to be the one who does your taxes, etc. or is it a mostly ceremonial position?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Carla, I don't know what picture editing program you use but sharpening is usually very easy with any program. I'd be happy to help if you need any advice.

    Yeah, Dawn and Zach are aging to teens in 2016. For some reason I was under the impression that they were already 11 but then I checked out their profiles and realized they have one year left before entering teenage.

    I haven't thought about it but I think Denise would be a good choice to handle the taxes etc. Ryland's not getting any younger so I'd rather have someone else handle the finances.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think they will be happy that their little ones will be starting high school soon. With everyone getting older it has to be hard on them running to keep pace with two young children!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Riverdale, I'm sure Ryland and Jackie will be thrilled once the kids age up and become more independent. Let's just hope they don't turn into teenage monsters LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sad for Jackie to have to eat alone. It looks like Dawn may be interested in taking the restaurant over herself when she grows up.

    Looks like Ryland will be able to settle down and have a good replacement after this term.

    I thought the photo of Jackie snoozing on the patio was sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Most of my sim families don't have meals together although I've tried to make it a habit for some families. Dawn's one true hobby is Cuisine so she'll probably take over the restaurant.

    ReplyDelete