Growing Older

Givar 2000Faith is preparing to enter university soon. She has a music scholarship, which isn't a surprise since she's signed to a record label as it is. I'm glad that she decided to go to university, at one point she was debating just joining the music industry full time.

We managed to have a long heart-to-heart talk about her future. She wants to move to Apple Valley Metro after graduation, apparently small town life isn't for her. That is fine, I'm not sure what will happen with the twins. Harvis hasn't been the same since his abduction and I discovered that nearly the same time, his brother was abducted as well. I hope this isn't some planned take-over!

Changes

Peacar 2000Construction on the Wilsonoff School of Business (grey building in the left corner) is almost complete. It sits in the main academic quad of Pierce University.

Other changes include that I've changed my hairstyle and locked my hair. The twins are almost 5 years old and wow, it seems like time flys. I still need to do some renovated at the Toy Shoppe, not to mention some renovating with my body. I've gained quite a bit of weight and it's not the cutest thing.

Love in the Air?

Peacar 2000 Watching your preteen son court a young woman must do something to your libido. Verde has had S'Ahmisa over a lot lately. She's no stranger to our family, the two were inseperable as children. Always playing outdoors, watching the latest game or reading the newest sports magazine over an afterschool snack.

But things have changed. The two spend hours talking and chatting, not as much time tossing the football and more time holding hands. I guess the sight of young love has done something to me.

I can barely keep my hands off my wife. We have to fight for alone time with the new baby, but thankfully Verde thinks it's fun to watch his new baby sister. Rojo still craves his privacy to compose his music. That boy reminds me of my father, so passionate about one thing that all else fades away.

My Best Friend

Peacar 2000

Let me tell you about my best friend, S'Ahmisa. She's great! Honestly, there's no one else in the hood that will play football with me and then hold hands and stare at the clouds. Mami and Papi tend to keep an close eye on us or send Rojo out to play with us, which he hates. He would rather be in his room working on his electronic keyboard and composing new songs.

Education Note: PU and Vocational Training

Johan Dawson Shazad

As part of my duties with Pierce University, I visited the academic quad as it prepared for it's first class in simyears. I must admit, I am quite proud of everything. The Wilsonoff family commissioned the Wilsonoff School of Business, while the Herendez family donated to the Arts Building. Other donations include a piano from the Kents to the Fine Arts School and the Warwicks even donated simoleans for the fountain to be installed.

While the university is still taking shape and preparing for the first students, I am overseeing the Vocational Training classes in the hood. I am lining up guest lecturers to speak on thier dedicated talent. Antonio has agreed to give a talk about the basics of pottery and Jadhira has also agreed to speak concerning basic flower arrangement. These classes will help residents expand thier knowledge beyond the basic skills of cooking and cleaning. Also, this will give a way for those not interested in university to find out other ways to apply thier intelligence.

Fairly Warm

Peacar 2000 This winter has been fairly warm, no snow on the ground like last winter. I have grown out my hair and work with the hood council has been fine. With the return to the ancient SimLonic calendar we're debating changing the term of hood council members. There are not a lot of sims interested in the hood council, but who knows what the future holds...soon more sims might be interested. So we're sending out a survey to the residents to find out thier opinion on the issue and we're considering adding a poll to the website to see what other sims in other hoods think.

The hood council work is going well, a lot of new construction projects have started. Feedback with the new calendar has been fairable but I still need to keep my finger on the pulse of the hood.

Family life is going well, we finally adopted! A little girl named Serendipity and she is growing bigger everyday it seems. Meanwhile Antonio and I tend to find ourselves in the bedroom a lot more lately. :)

Pregnant

Resar 2000

So this month of harvast has resulted in us becoming pregnant. I'm not sure how I feel. Part of me is estatic, another baby! Another part of me is fearful! We have twins and who knows if we will have another set of twins considering that both Grex and I and my mother are twins. We don't have the space for another set of twins. We need to expand the farm just to accomadate the new family member(s) and that means taking out a loan...which in this economy is scary. Will we be able to make payments? Should we tap the equity of the farm and refinance? Should I begin looking for work outside the house or finding alternative ways to earn more money from our land. This is all so scary.

Busy Season

Resar 2000

The harvest season is here and I've been busy gathering crops. The twins have been helping as much as they can by watering the plants and helping me bait the hook for our small pond. Ginger is pregnant again, so we are looking into renovating the farm and adding additional rooms. Part of me wants to give up this back breaking work and settle in a small house and get a 9-5 job like the other sims, but then...I know I will miss the smell of dirt under my fingernails.

Thankfully the twins still see this work as fun. Ginger found them some nice work clothes, so now they can help in the fields without fear of getting pretty clothes spoiled and dirty. The market is doing well. We still sell fresh produce and fish, floral arrangements and hand crafted potholders and quilts. With the flood of tourists coming to the island looking for that small town charm as they call it, our items have been leaving the shelves quickly.

Tales of the Young

Resar 2000My grandchildren seem to have particular insight. I overheard them at the table discussing how they would be the only grandchildren that Cassandra and I would see. I thought nothing of it until Ginger annouced that she was pregnant. Now I feel like my days are numbered. If the insight of the twins is correct, Cassandra and I only have moments before we leave forever...

Recollecting Memories

Resar 2000 This return to the ancient calendar is a bit like my years in TS1. I still marvel at how I actually experience the TS1 dimension and am around today in the new dimension and there is talk of another dimension. I know that we will not be going to the new dimension, but it is nice to dream about the things there. Matthew and I are getting older and I know that soon our time will come, I would love to be able to take a trip with him before death comes a calling.

Nothing Much is New

Havar 2000

The twins turned 5, thank goodness because two toddlers are the worst in taking care of! We gave away our beloved cats due to thier destructive nature. We could barely afford to keep replacing the furniture or items they continued to destroy. Work is going well, thankfully I still have a job, Johan has been promoted so to speak so we have a little more money coming in, but we still have to watch the simoleans carefully.

Harvesting Young Minds

Havar 2000What a busy month it's been. The new school opened to much fanfare. I am really close to hiring Jesse Kent for the position of primary teacher as student enrollment has increased exponentially. My twins have turned 5 as well as three other children in the neighborhood, making the kindergarten class five little sims. Two third graders, two junior high students and four high school students round out enrollment to 13 sims.

The new school has two buildings, primary and secondary. The primary building serves grades K-5 on the lower level and grades 6-8 on the upper level. There is a small cafeteria in thier building as well as a small playground. Next to it is the secondary building for grades 9-12.

The new school sits behind the administration buildings, so we see a lot of the hood council president stopping by. I have to give my report of the upcoming graduation ceremony for the two seniors as well as the happenings at Pierce University. Besides lectures to the students and a few hands on classes, I do not spend much time devoted to AVA, hopefully Jesse will eventually become the administrator.

Remembering the Changes

Remar 2000

The usual updates-work is fine, my little girl has grown so much, finally she said "dada!" yea!!! This year has been hard for Jolie. She's without her mother for the first time and she's still depressed that we're not pregnant.

We've been trying, believe me, we've been trying. Every chance we got, but no such luck.

Jolie's been trying not to mourn the absence of another child and instead enjoy our daughter who tends to find herself in the backyard at all hours of the day. She wants to take up jogging with her father, so I, of course, will spoil her and allow her to jog with me on my next jog...granted that she's awake at that hour.

Remembering the Good

Remar 2000

This month started with a bang! Little Grace Elise turned 5! Wow, my baby is growing up! She looks like her grandmother. Since this is the month of rememberence, we made sure to share silly stories of my mom with Grace Elise and show her plenty of family photos.

I changed my hairstyle. I'm getting older and that was too much hair to take care of, so I cut most of it off. Jorge seems to like my new hairstyle as we've been having more intimate moments lately. Dancing in the dark, caresses as we pass each other. I would still like another baby, but it seems like nature doesn't intend for us to get pregnant again.

So I'm trying to focus on enjoying what I do have. A great husband, healthy little girl, job that I love and beautiful home.

The Man Behind the President

Patar 2000 Many sims wonder what it's like being the husband of a powerful hood council president. I suppose it's the same as being the husband of any woman. I support her projects, co-host events with her and make sure that the home life is comfortable and stress-free.

I no longer have my job with Blossom Salon as it closed down, so I'm taking the year off. Next year I plan on looking for work, though there isn't a rush. We have plenty of simoleans and Fiona's salary also takes care of the bills, but soon Bill will enter university and Veronika will start school and who knows...we might have another child.

I've been considering entering into the law field or even education. There's an opening at the school for a primary teacher. That sounds interesting...I'm not sure if I have the patience for it, but Fiona says that I would be perfect for the job. So I'll apply for the position, it's settled.


We never found a sim to answer our ad as a personal assistant, so we hired a butler. Thankfully he takes care of everything. Cleaning, light cooking, caring for Veronika, everything! He frees up a lot of time for me to keep in fit and help Fiona with her scheduling and duties. I guess behind every hood council president is a spouse helping them out.

The business of the president

Patar 2000 As hood council president, I am expected to host quite a few events. So I started this month with a small party for the current hood council, hood employees and key financial backers to the hood council. I was surprised to see the Sweeny's as they recently had triplets and does Li ever look good. I can not believe that she just had triplets! Thankfully I also regained my figure quite quickly after Veronika's birth, but Li just had triplets less than 3 months ago!

Speaking of Veronika, she recently celebrated her first birthday. Can you believe it! My little lady is growing up so quickly!

Another duty of the hood council president is to make appearences around the hood. Even though the nip of spring is still clinging to the summer air, I made my rounds and spoke to residents and tourists alike. There are more transient sims on the island now thanks to our tourism policy increasing and my tours to other hoods has increased the visablity of Apple Valley. More sims are interested in making Apple Valley thier home, or at least attending Pierce University.

Besides my duties as hood council president, I am still a wife and mother and early morning pancake breakfasts are still a tradition. Bill has been busy with studying for his skill exams and preparing for his final year, so we rarely see him at breakfast. Speaking of family, I have to write my brother, Fredic, a note. Soon he will be entering the new dimension-while Apple Valley will not. It will be a little harder to keep in contact, but at least we've seen each other as much as possible before that fateful day.

Maturity

Patar 2000

I've been thinking about my future. My academic future. What will I major in? What about future job options? I love robotics and building things with my hands. My current job with the Toy Shoppe gives me some experience, but...what about university? What about Faith?

Financial Director: Jonagold Shoppes

Rebecca Wilsonoff

I'm pleased to annouced the grand opening of the Jonagold Shoppes I and Jonagold Shoppes II. I am posting exclusive photos of Jonagold Shoppes II, located behind Daniels Row near the main ferry road.

Residents can expect to find lots of shops targeting various hobbies and interests. There is the Bohemian Books, where many sims find themselves discussing the latest books or films. Culinary Cooks Rock, a cooking school and showcase for the best cooks to compete in cooking competitions. An indoor sports arena, dance hall, stand-up comedy club, gym and my personal favorite, a two level artists studio specializing in classes in pottery, sewing, painting and toy construction.

Jonagold Shoppes I features stores for the basic shopping needs of our residents.

Leaving Legacy

Lovar 2000

This month started out fairly busy. I did a few renovations of CupaJava and I am very pleased with our new location, bewteen the Veronika Kent Medical Centre and the Apple Valley Academy. So student and patients walk by all the time and stop by for a cup of coffee or delicious cake from my baker Jolie Dawson. Eventually I will have S'Ahmisa start helping with the business since she has expressed interest in maintaining it. She has her eye on Pierce University and studying economics. I think it's never to early to map out your life, but my wife constantly reminds her that she's 12 and in the 6th grade and that she has plenty of time to think about her future.

However, we must both admit that she's growing up. Verde Herendez came over and took her to Apple Valley Metro to the new sports park. I wouldn't call it a date per se, but I suppose it was. I never seen that boy so dressed up before. He slicked back his hair and he even seemed nervous. I guess that is one good thing about losing that bidding war for the house at Greymount Pointe is that the preteens are not exactly neighbors now.

While I worry about the activities of my oldest, my youngest has her head stuck in the books. Not her school books mind you, unless it's science, but her favorite magazine "Nature Geeks". Si'Enya has started keeping a box of her collectables. Insects mounted to the cardboard, labeled specimens of leaves, detailed notes of bird encounters. Her love for all things nature has even effected school life. She's been having negative encounters with a group of students over ant hills during recess.

In other news, I sold our vacation home and am currently bidding on another larger cabin. I plan on taking the family back to the mountains soon so we can relax.

PreTeen Life

Lovar 2000

It's the month of love and what a month it's been. I went on my first offical date!-sort of.

Verde asked me to go to the new sports park with him. I was so excited, it is in Apple Valley Metro which meant we would take the ferry and go all by ourselves. My father of course had Verde stop by before we left and he gave him the whole "my little princess" talk. I could tell Verde was nervous, he slicked back his hair and dressed in a sweater vest and everything in an effort to appear preppy and older.

After a game of basketball we relaxed in the grass and stared at the clouds as they changed shapes. Mostly we say basketballs and the occasional football, but I did see a hockey stick. It's funny, with Verde and I, everything is sports, sports and more sports. If we're not debating the Llamas vs the Bunnies, then we're comparing stats on our fantasy leagues or scouring the internet for international sports stars.

After the long ferry home, it was dark and Verde walked me to my door, naturally. Mom and dad were still up and pretending not to peek out the curtains. Verde kissed me good night. A real kiss! It seems so strange, but natural. We were always the best of friends, eversince we were kids and now...actually, I don't know if we're going steady or not. Mom says that I'm too young to go steady, only in the 6th grade, and that there will be other boys that catch my eye. I don't know, none of them know me as well as Verde does.

Ok, so when I'm not babbling about my first date, I'm studying for exams. They're much more difficult now that I'm in junior high and sometimes I stay up late at night studying. I want to excel, not just in sports and soccer, but also academics. I can't run a successful business empire with my looks or my name alone. I have to know exactly how economics works.