Chapter Fifty Nine - Growing Pains

Hannah is a strange child. She finds monsters under her parents' bed, yet that's exactly where she chooses to sleep!!!

Sophie is enjoying the walker now, her chubby little legs taking her along cobbled paths etc.

Whilst in the play pen (THAT'S what this is!!!!) Vanessa has taken upon having a staring contest .... with herself. You know you are not going to win that one my dear.

Business and emergencies are slow at the fire station. That fire alarm is still faulty and resets itself. So Blaine spends most of his time chatting online or sitting at the draft board..... designing clothing?????

This, is too cute not to share. Gotta love toddlers when they can do this *happy smile*

Meanwhile, William gets out of bed and feels a little strange.
Oh don't worry kid, it's just growing pains.

See?
Now isn't he a handsome laddie? He definitely has his mother's looks, with his father's skintone to compliment.

Because I'd 'apparently', done such a great job in raising him (pats self on back) I could choose a trait. So I opted for Family Oriented, just to give him a bit of a head start in life. Immediately he starts rolling wishes regarding his siblings.....

awww....


Potty training Vanessa (with Boney - recently reinstated - trying to photo bomb the scene .... sooo not happening there)

Whilst Shannon teaches Sophie how to talk!
Can you say muscles?
Daddy!
Hahaha, nice try kiddo.

Austin .... it's just a short distance from the front garden to the front door. How is your daughter going to learn how to walk, if you are pushing her around in that buggy?

My kid, my rules.
Whatever.

Hannah sits quietly doing her homework and hoping that nobody kicks off today.

William rolls a wish to get a part time job!
Any idea what you want to do?
Uh, no.
There are a few openings.
Anything in the hospital?
Um, no.
Grrr.
How about working at a convenience store? Extra pennies in your pocket!
I guess so.
And so he gets a job at the local grocery store.

He also rolls a wish to Learn to Drive.
Funnily enough, Austin rolls a wish to Teach William to Drive.
So why not?

Whilst the two of them are buckling up for William's first lesson, Hannah rolled a wish to play dominoes with someone. Since the rest of the family was busy, there was only Blaine.

However, since he was so slow and ungainly, she soon got bored waiting and decided to lounge on one of the loungers by the pool.

You sure this is a good idea, Austin? Using the squad car to teach your son how to drive?
My kid, my rules.
Whatever. As long as you don't get caught.

Actually, they both look very comfortable there. Not a single sign of strain from either of them.

That's because my son is awesome!

And then I get the pop up, a free vacation for all adults!!
So bang goes the driving lessons for now, poor William had to walk home.
I spotted this Sim running from their house, not a clue why, just looked suspicious that's all.
Her name is Norma Arthur.
Hmm, a future partner for William perhaps?

Seizing the opportunity, Hannah decides that she wants to join the Scouts after school (and sneaks onto Simbook at the same time)

In the meantime, downstairs, William is having problems of his own. He is exhausted beyond measure and the dishwasher decided to break down at the same time, spewing water all over the clean floor!

WHEEEEE!!!!
Just gotta love this action!! I tried with William but it is so fast that you've got to be really quick in getting pics.

Thing is, since there aren't any adults around, and William is distracted .... Hannah takes up a great opportunity to sneak off and have some fun.

There's a wide river at the back of the property, it is 'apparently', perfect for watersports. So she took a water taxi into the middle.....

.... to do a spot of winsurfing!

William had heard of an elixir that boosts up Sims' energies, so he decided to visit the consignment/potions store (newly dropped into Dragon Valley by me) next door, to see if they had any.
He knew it was a quick fix. But he needed to stay alert for the twins. He wanted them exhausted before he was. Anything for a quiet life really.... and a good nights' sleep!!

The store clerk ignored him first of all. Then demanded his I.D. card. Frowned, then announced that there wasn't one of those in stock at this moment. He suggested some strong coffee. He might not have gotten the elixir he wanted. But he managed to buy another one (forget which one) thusly fulfilling another Wish.

There was such an array of coffee/drinks machines in Buy/Build that I couldn't decide on one, so I just closed my eyes and randomly chose one.

It was defective. Spurted coffee into William's face.

He managed to get a drink .... after reading the complex manual. Seriously, you needed a degree to figure out how this thing worked!!!

Final random pic of Sophie playing with the activities table.

Chapter Fifty Eight - 欢迎尚SIMLA - 从英语 (Welcome To Shang Simla)

You know I couldn't resist (for those know-it-alls out there,  before you get all picky and stuff .....  I simply ran welcome to shang simla through the translator and copied & pasted it here)

Yep, we are back on our travels. Unless someone rolls a wish to be an Adventurer or Traveller, or wishes to travel abroad, then these may be the last pics you'll see of my Sims in far flung places!

Thing is, Austin hasn't rolled another wish to travel. But he's got an outstanding opportunity he needs to complete, and it was a shame to cancel it - Learn the Martial Arts skill.

So, without further ado, I sent him to Shang Simla to complete his opportunity (plus it was a good excuse to buy the martial arts equipment to take back home - saving time and effort going back there again)

He arrived at base camp and was duly impressed.

He wished to visit the market, see the terracotta army.
In his squad car.

You know, you could hire a bicycle, they're the norm here.
Yeah well, thanks but no thanks, I'd rather travel by car.

But before he went to see the terracotta army, I made him take on an adventure, hoping that one of them was the Martial Arts one (prior experience taught me that one) But sadly, no, it was tomb raiding again.

I cancelled it and made Austin learn a song instead, something to impress the missus back home no doubt.
He surprised me with his fine tenor voice.

And then it was down to business as he hurled his frail little elderly body against the training dummy.

I need to pee
Not yet, just a few more minutes to go
But I really need to pee.... right NOW!

*sigh* Elders, their bladders aren't as sturdy as they get older

I heard that.

He earned a belt, but unfortunately he didn't quite master the first skill level. BAH!!
Soooo, I sent him to see the terracotta army, since he'd been chewing my ear off over it, ever since he arrived.

 I must say, I was impressed. But sadly, Austin wasn't.

Bored. Seen it all before.
Soooo, what do you want to do then?
Fulfil another Opportunity
Uh oh.
I thought this one only applied back home, but it applies all around the world.
MOAR street art.

So, he ended up tagging a large area of the floor in the market and boosting his Rebel Influence back up again.

I was surprised that he wasn't arrested and dragged back to base camp.
For such a picturesque and tranquil place, they didn't bat an eyelid at all.

Mind you, he DID manage to make something that was fairly apt for the region anyways.

Pretty huh?

 He ran out of time to head back to base camp, and so set up his tent in the market itself.

 He gained a few visa points, enough to purchase a couple of speciality items, along with some recipes, the training dummy, board breaker and fortune cookie machine....

... oh and the obligatory incense holder.

But since he never rolled any more wishes, I sent him home early.

These 'adventures' are non starters ... methinks.

Chapter Fifty Seven - Up Against a Pro Here

First off, they were already in build/buy, so I decided to put them to good use.
What am I talking about? The baby walker and the activity crib thingy - although the crib has its uses a little further along in this tale.

Vanessa was put into the walker, which pleased her no end and stopped her consistent squalling.

Hannah, however, it was an entirely different story. For today, it was her birthday!!

She grew up into the cutest little kid I've seen in a while. There was one thing, however, that bothered me.
She transitioned with a rather bizarre chin feature. I hope she grows out of it pretty soon.

I gave her a quick makeover, since the pigtails simply weren't rocking, ya know?
She has the following traits now ...

Brave
Good
Genius (since that was her parents' fervent wish from the moment she was born)

She put her Brave trait to the test by checking for monsters under her parents' bed of all things!! I guess they were far too big to fit under the bunk beds!

She is also a little mischievous too. And a tattle tale. Blaine, forgetting about his 'bladder' need, leaked oil on the bathroom floor.

Right in front of Hannah.

I'm telling.

She wouldn't.... would she?
I wouldn't put it past her actually.


It's bedtime and Vanessa is throwing a strop, because daddy wouldn't let her stay in the walker.

Which annoyed both William and Hannah, who trooped down the stairs in force to complain.

Dad, stop her crying. We can't sleep.
I'm just putting her to bed right now. I seriously don't know what's wrong with her lately. She's had plenty of attention, she's been fed, her diaper changed. I really don't know what to do with her kids. Sorry.

Austin managed to placate them, which led to this little scene that I thought was hilarious.
Let me put you into the shoes of William and Hannah here shall I?

So, you are doing magic huh?
Just playing with my fairy dust.

Ohhh, I've got a trick to show you. I learned this all by myself! Wanna see?
I guess so, since we are both awake now. Thanks to Nessa.

 Look, I can hover.
Yeah, so can I. Big deal.
No, wait. This is a good one. Really. It's a little tricky. Um, hang on, I'm not sure if I'm doing this right.
Hey, I'll tell you if you are doing just fine, you are up against the Pros here kiddo.

Just a little twist of the hands, and .... POW!!! There! How do you feel?
Poor William got the Hot Headed trick his kid sister played on him.

MY EARS! MY EARS!!! My head feels as though it's about to explode!!!

Hannah, that was very naughty, just wait till I tell dad!
 And risk me telling him what you did to that poor woman a couple of days ago? I think not.

You are not nice.
HEHEHEHEHEHEHE.....

 Now, I've got to go get a shower. And there'd better not be anything in there, like hair dyes etc. Or I WILL tell dad.

Hannah ponders over this one very carefully.

Chapter Fifty Six - Toddler Spam

The twins couldn't be more different than chalk and cheese.
Sophie was sweet natured, did as she was told, wrapped everyone around her little finger, and curried favour with everyone in the household.

Vanessa however, was completely and totally her twins' opposite. She was grouchy, difficult, noisy, irritating and above all, she made it well clear of her displeasure at not being the centre of attention.

Austin tried to potty train her, but she threw a mega fit and refused to sit properly. So in the end he decided to let her poop her diaper. It was much easier and less noisy that way.

Poor William was absolutely furious and came downstairs to complain very loudly about his sisters' tantrums. All Austin could do was to shrug his shoulders, apologise and tell his eldest that she'll grow out of it... eventually. He is still waiting for that elusive event.

The only time the household gets any form of peace and quiet, is when the twins are fast asleep.

Blaine after finally dragging his metal butt away from the Fire Station....

 Helps out and gets a reward..... a fancy schmancy sleep station complete with optional sleep pattern waves to choose from! Saves dripping leaky oil on the bunk bed anyways!!!

Hard to believe that theses two can cause such a terrible ruckus.
Just look at them. When they're not screaming the place down, they are simply adorable!!

Sophie is the blonde toddler with pink wings by the way - if I hadn't already pointed that out!
So far, her traits are:
Loves the Outdoors
Easily Impressed

Faves are:
Music: Beach Party
Food: Grilled Cheese
Colour: Hot Pink (matches her wings yes???)

Vanessa in the meantime - after a quick makeover .......
.... that bald look just wasn't rockin', ya know???

.... likey? I do

Traits are:
Loves the Outdoors (like her sister)
Disciplined

Faves are:
Music: Country
Food: Pumpkin Pie
Colour: Grey

See? Even with very similar traits, they are most certainly different as chalk and cheese!

Oh and a bonus pic for you.
Hannah getting herself impaled inside the doll house.

It just had to be her now, hadn't it?