The Grunt Family: Week 4

The fourth week at the Grunts' begins with Tank cuddling on the porch bench with Hermia Capp, mother of his two sons and future mother of... well, I don't know yet, do I! Tank is 13 days from Elderhood, but still far from reaching his LTW, that of having 20 best pet friends.

General Buzz Grunt is 60 and still happily going to work almost every day (he is a Super Hero).

Ripp is 22 days from Elderhood and busy as usual with his LTW of having 20 simultaneous loves.

On Monday morning, several things happen almost at the same time:

Buck moves back in after having graduated Summa Cum Laude in Drama, and adding more than 16.000 Simoleons to the already well-stocked family bank account. He is in a 3-bolt-relationship with Beatrice Monty, and I am sure that sooner or later, these two will start living together as they have done during their college years.

Ripp makes Blossom Swain (nee Moonbeam) his 9th love.

Bucks LTW is to become Mayor. He is very lucky: right on his first day back home, he is accepted as Judge in New Maximiliania's High Court.

Ripp has, in the meantime, been making the acquaintance of Jennifer Burb.

Buck spends almost his entire afternoon and evening skilling for his career.

On Tuesday, Ripp invites Jennifer Burb over again, in order to intensify their friendship.

But it is Ophelia Nigmos who becomes # 10 on his list of loves - that is one half of his LTW completed.

Tank's dog Rover turns into an Elder.

Bailey, a stray dog with whom Tank already is best friends, appears for a belly-rub and a game of razzle.

Buck returns from the court with a promotion to Senator.

Tank invites his two sons, Christopher (right) and Callum (left), over for the afternoon.

He really does try to be a good father to the boys, in spite of not living with them and their mother, but I'm afraid to tell you that, as soon as he became aware of the small stray dog behind him, he broke off conversation with the boys and only had eyes for little Grace.

Grace came back on Wednesday, and soon she was Tank's 6th best pet friend.

Also on Wednesday night, Buck invites his college sweetheart Beatrice Monty over to watch the stars with him. (Of course I made him invite her over, but I let them decide what they wanted to do together, and they ended up spending half the night on the hard floor boards of the porch!)

Thursday before work, Buck is seen reading on his bed.

An interlude - I am sure you all have seen this before, but it still makes me smile every time I notice a cat using their human's toilet instead of their own litter tray :-)

Ripp and his father spend Thursday morning over a game of chess. Ripp is glad that, after a difficult time during his teenage years, the two of them are now best friends.

When Buck returns from work on that Thursday afternoon, it is with his last promotion - welcome New Maximiliania's newest Mayor! He is now on Permanent Platinum and still has 25 days before he will turn into an Elder. Well done, Buck!

Later that evening, Buck decides on his own that he wants to do some stargazing. Maybe he thought of inviting Beatrice over again and wanted to show her some more constellations. Be it as it may, even though it was only just gone 8.00 pm, he was abducted by Aliens!! There goes the popular theory that abductions only happen between 12.00 and 4.00 am! (Come to think of it, with so many Alien abductions in my game, I am quite sure that some more must have happened outside that time window.)

When he is returned from the space ship, his brothers and visitor Stella Terrano welcome him back. I wonder whether Stella was a bit embarrassed about her relatives' behaviour...!

Poor Buck - he is a Popularity and not a Knowledge Sim, and the abduction upset him quite a bit. Good job he is on Permanent Platinum already and takes good care of his own needs most of the time, as well as doing a lot of the cleaning around the house without being told.

On Friday, Tank's little friend Grace is back. I am sure the stray dog would like to be adopted by Tank, but three dogs and a cat already keep the household busy enough.

Uh-oh... remember Lavender Greenman and her beloved puddle? I don't think I will ever be able again to watch a Sim jump in the puddle without fearing for their sanity :-) Ripp is called to the phone, though, and stops jumping.

Tank has Miranda and their sons over for a meal today. He has been showing the wish of being friends with Christopher for several days now.

On this rainy afternoon out on the porch, Jennifer Burb becomes Ripp's 11th love.

After she has left, he invites Heather Huffington over, his true love, and they celebrate in style that Ripp is one step nearer his LTW, which means he is also one step closer to being with Heather for good.

On Saturday morning, Buck has his pregnancy confirmed.

Stella Terrano makes Ripp's list as # 12.

With the first snow in a thin layer on the ground, General Buzz enjoys a game of throwing the stick with Boogie after he returns from work.

Charlie, who is making his first appearance this week but was already friends with Tank during their last week, becomes his 7th best pet friend.

It is Sunday, and a very pregnant Buck has just helped with the Christmas decorations.

After having spent good part of the morning outside with his dogs, Tank is grateful not only for his Dad having made omelettes for breakfast, but also for the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace.

A rare occurrance, and not planned by me: all four Grunts sit down for a meal together.]

Buck asks Beatrice to come over - she can of course see it with her own eyes, but he still feels the need to explain his pregancy to her.

Tank's old friend Bailey, a stray dog, puts in an appearance. He already is best friends with Tank, so no new addition for his LTW.

With so much snow covering the yard around the house now, Tank invites his sons over for a snowball fight. And during this fight, he and Christopher finally become friends. I expected him to express the same wish for Callum, but that has not yet been the case.

Let's end the fourth week at the Grunts' with Ripp watching telly while his Dad is playing chess with sort-of daughter-in-law Miranda Capp. 

Who is going to be Ripp's next love? Will Tank make progress towards his LTW? Is Buck going to have a baby boy, girl or even twins, and when and where will he start living with Beatrice?