TS4: The Spencer-Kim-Lewis-Riley Family, Week 3

Click here for Week 2 with the Spencer-Kim-Lewis family, and here for Giuliana Riley's week before moving in with them.

Below, you see the large Spencer-Kim-Lewis house. With so many different surnames, this family appears more often on my alphabetical list of playables than others; we were last here for Eric Lewis and are here again this week for Giuliana Riley.

Here she is, enjoying a few early morning hours trolling the forums on this Monday. She is getting on in years, and I am not sure she will stick around for the whole week. By the way, I just realised that I mis-spelled her name many times, writing "Giulianna" instead of "Giuliana". Sorry about that!

Alice Kim-Lewis is also having fun at one of the four or five computers available in this house.

Her first daughter, Olivia Spencer-Kim-Lewis, can be found at... you guessed it, another computer.

And what has Olivia's little sister Ophelia be doing? Look at the desk behind her...! Honestly, this family is obsessed with their computers. All through the week, every time I am not directing someone, that Sim will almost invariably be drawn to one of the computers.

Here is the entire household: Eric Lewis, Alice Kim-Lewis, Ophelia, Olivia and Giuliana Riley.

Later that Monday, Eric spends some time gardening. The garden was started by his late father-in-law, who died last round.

Giuliana and Olivia play chess. Giuliana is still in her PJs, and I decide to check her wardrobe for outfits.

She has this one with a hat...

...and this rather stylish little black (or charcoal) shift dress.

On Tuesday morning, Olivia grabs a bowl of parfait for breakfast.

As yesterday, Giuliana trolls the forums. She needs to do that for another milestone.

Meanwhile, Alice has noticed Katrina Caliente walking by, and goes outside to greet her.

Giuliana and Olivia get along very well and often stop for a chat when they bump into each other somewhere in or around the big house.

I have Giuliana clean her bathroom on Wednesday morning.

Eric is friends with Travis Scott and is always happy to see him. Travis calls several times this week, and his self-invitations are never rejected.

Olivia makes an effort to meet more neighbours. Here she is chatting to Nancy Landgraab, with Katrina Caliente in the back. I believe the little boy is a townie.

Ophelia is home from school, and Alexander Goth comes visiting on his own accord. I didn't realise the two of them are such good friends.

On Thursday morning, I discover Alice's latest painting - this fox. It is a master piece and was painted while Alice was in an "inspired" mood. Usually, I sell all her paintings - the family has no other income - but I am definitely keeping this one.

Today, it is the two sisters who play chess. It helps both of them towards their respective milestones.

Travis is here again, and the adults gather in the living room.

Isn't it nice that in this game, two Sims can sit next to each other on a bed, reading and doing homework together?

Alice hardly ever stops painting. After all, becoming a Master Painter is her goal in life. By Friday, she has reached level 8 of the painting skill.

Giuliana talks to one of her many friends.

Zoe Patel comes visiting.

Olivia has the wish to craft objects, and a woodwork table is bought for her. Her first object is a knife block, which I put in the kitchen.

Next, she makes this bunny sculpture for her little sister.

It is still Friday, when at 11:00 pm...

...Giuliana drops to the floor...

...and dies. She was 256 days old.

Young Ophelia pleads for her "auntie's" life. And what do you know - her wish is granted!

Giuliana is back!

Interestingly, she spends quite a lot of time chatting with Mr. Reaper, who by the way is a Young Adult.

The first thing Alice does on Saturday morning is grabbing her hubby for a selfie. I did not direct her to do that!

Later that day, Giuliana dies... again!

And just like the day before, Ophelia is successful in her pleading with Mr. Reaper.

This time, she even becomes friends with him! I didn't know this was possible.

Sunday is here, and Giuliana starts the day at the piano.

Ophelia is invited for a play date with Gary Bowser. I accept for her.

Here is Gary, and his big sister Emma. Ophelia spends a few hours at the house. Gary is not the friendliest of kids and I begin to wonder why he asked Ophelia over at all. She leaves on her own accord when the play date is over. It was "OK".

She turns into a teenager the same afternoon.

While she doees her home work (I swear she did it on Friday, and of course there is no school on the weekend), her Dad keeps her company.

And then, Mr. Reaper is back for Giuliana.

This time, it happens so fast that I can not send Ophelia over to plead for her. Or maybe that only works twice, and the third time, a Sim must say good-bye to this world forever.

Ophelia is very sad. But I am sure she - like the rest of the household - will be happy again. Giuliana was well loved and a nice Sim to play, but at almost 260 days, her time was up.

There is still soooo much I have not yet tried in TS4! This family are a good testing ground, what with their members being of different age and having plenty of money, therefore not needing to spend time away for work.

The Riley Household - Week 3

Week 2 with the Rileys since their return from uni is here.

Hello, dear Rileys! I always enjoy playing this particular household, because they carry my surname, and any children that are born in this family are given a name out of the pool of real-life Rileys :-)
But wait a minute - that in the background does not look like the house where we last left them, does it!

You're right, it is not their old house. I have decided to rebuild the real-life house I live in, as close to the original as possible. The original is a semi-detached house, with an identical house attached on the left. Also, the real life house has an attic flat and two rooms in the cellar (don't ask!), but I do not need that for the Rileys in my game, only two flats for Steve's and Meike's households.

The view from the back shows the small patio/terrace. In real life, the tree is a mulberry tree, and the windows behind the tree are my bedroom windows. The row of three windows is where my living room would be (and where the Sim-Meike's living room is, of course).

The top-down view of the upper floor is as close to my real flat as I was able to make it, down to the colour scheme in each room. You will see more of it in the course of this week, I suppose.
Clockwise from the top left corner: Meike's bedroom (including a desk with computer - where the real Meike plays this game), living room (actually, I have a padded foot stool matching the yellow armchair, but there is nothing like that in the game), Alan's room (in real life, my guest room / home office / study), hallway (actually separated from the staircase, but it would make the hallway almost unplayable), kitchen with dining table and two chairs, and shower room with toilet.

The ground floor is very different in real life; an elderly couple live there and I know their flat to be of the exact same layout - their kitchen is where mine is, their bathroom as well, but I need the flat to be fit for Steve, Wilma and their daughter Mary.

You remember the family, right? If not, let me quickly re-introduce you: Steve Riley married Wilma Williamson. As you can see, he is currently expecting. Their first child, Mary, was given birth to by Wilma.

Here is Meike. She looks only remotely like me; my chin and nose are not as pointed, and my eyes are blue (the Sim-Meike has brown eyes). You will see her son Alan in a bit.

On this Monday, soon after having moved in, Steve greets the paper boy, Amin Fleig. Fleig? Yes, there are already two Fleigs living in New Max, Jill and Cole - here is another member of their family.

Because the household has moved, they have a visit from the Welcome Committee. It consists of Candice Walter and Cole Fleig (both newcomers) as well as Jared Starchild, who is now an elderly man (he started out as one of the original students).

Mary returns from school and plays with her wombrat Panda - her mother Wilma had it already when she was young. The longevity of these animals in the game never ceases to amaze me!

Here is Alan, looking for Mary. Both kids have come home from school in need of some fun before they can think about homework.

A quick round of Red Hands does the trick.

It is almost 8:00 pm when Steve wakes up from a nap with a tummy ache like he's never known before.

Thankfully, the pain is forgotten when minutes later, his half-Alien daughter is born. Welcome, Jean Riley!
The family tree in this household is complicated - Wilma Williamson and Jean Riley have the same Alien father, who is Mary's grandfather. Steve and Meike are cousins - or half-siblings... Their parents were a mix-up of Sally Riley, Hal Capp, Etsu Cho and Timothy Riley (see end of this post for details).

Mary (whose huge bulging eyes look a little less scary behind glasses) is happy to have a little sister.

Here is Meike in her kitchen very early on Tuesday morning.

She has been having a late dinner and goes to bed straight afterwards.

In the ground floor kitchen, Wilma feeds her baby half-sister and cuddles her before putting little Jean back in her crib.

At 3:00 pm, Mary and Alan return from school. Param Patel gets off the bus with them.

After she comes home from work, Meike helps Alan with his homework.
Yesterday's birth of baby Jean has upset the household routines somewhat, and both school children have not done their homework; now they have to catch up on things.

Steve wakes up on Wednesday morning with the bad cough he brought home yesterday still with him.

A quick look upstairs: Here is Meike's living room, rather similar to the real one.

The other side of the living room.

The Sim-Meike is raking the first batch of autumn leaves today - unlike the real Meike, whose downstairs neighbours take care of the garden behind the house.

Wilma returns from work with a promotion to Theorist. I believe that is one step short of reaching her lifetime want of becoming Mad Scientist.

The ladies are not in the habit of drinking champagne on a weekday early afternoon, but Wilma's good news certainly call for a small celebration.

When the children come from school at 3:00 pm, Paul Patel is with them. He is Param's brother, who accompanied Alan and Mary the day before.

Time and time again, I have noticed that Thursdays often are the most eventful days of a Sim's week. It looks like the Rileys are no exception!
The day starts unremarkably enough with Mary having a "chat" with her little sister.

Steve's work starts in the early afternoon, and so he is still around to greet passers-by Vyn Scott. Scott? Yes, like Travis Scott in The Sims 4. Vyn is eligible for full citizenship in New Maximiliania, and Steve will now try to befriend her.

At 3:00 pm, two happy children jump off the school bus with their first A+ reports: first Mary...

...and then Alan.

Not far behind him, their classmate Chris Capp gets off the bus, too.

Alan and Mary's fun level is rather low after school, but there are plenty of ways to get their fun up before having them sit down to do their homework. Alan's room upstairs has this stuffed giraffe, a toy he particularly likes. (Sadly, not really a toy - just a piece of decoration. But it does the trick.)

It seems like everybody brings someone home today. Steve's colleague Gesine Landgraab is with him when the car pool drops him off that evening.

The day's events peak with baby Jean's birthday - not a baby anymore, but a very cute toddler.

Friday morning sees Wilma and her step daughter/half-sister becoming best friends.

Upstairs, Meike and Alan talk about the hobby they have in common - games - before the schoolbus arrives.
(I really have the "Malm" series in my bedroom, the same chest of drawers as this one here, the same bed and same bedside table, and a large wardrobe with a mirror on the sliding door, but I do not have a Dalarna horse like the one seen here on top of the chest of drawers. I have always liked those Swedish folk decorations but have never bought them for myself.)

Steve has the day off and uses it in the best possible ways. First, he teaches his little daughter to use her potty.

Then, he enjoys the beautiful autumn sun while harvesting the delicious apples from the tree at the corner of the house.
(That corner has a cherry tree in real life, but as there are no harvestable cherry trees in the game, I decided to use an apple tree instead.)

Mary is a real Daddy's girl and has fun dancing the Smustle with Steve after school.

Finally, the weekend is here! Steve is woken up at 1:00 on Saturday morning by little Jean demanding attention, but from his face you can tell he doesn't really mind; his work will start at 3:00 in the afternoon, giving him plenty of time to get a few more hours of sleep in before that.

Mary plays with her little sister for a while.

Upstairs, Meike has begun to prepare omelettes for breakfast on her own initiative.

Unfortunately, she somehow manages to set the stove on fire - and there is no fire alarm installed! (In my real flat, I have of course fire alarms installed; they are mandatory in this country. Thankfully, I have never had a house fire in real life - only in my game!)

You know I can not sit back and let things run their natural course with this family - they are special to me, and so I have Steve downstairs (he is unaware of the fire and has not started the panic dance yet) ring the fire station.
Together, Meike and the fire fighter manage to put out the flames before anything really bad happens - just a little boy and his mum desperately needing a shower.

After everything is back in order, I have Wilma, Meike, Mary and Alan take a taxi to Amelia's closet. The state of this family's wardrobe leaves a lot to be desired, plus they have not yet been to a community lot this week.

While Meike makes choices for everyone...

...the kids have a pillow fight, and Wilma is looking for neighbours to greet.

A few times now on community lots, I have observed teenage NPCs such as this paper boy show up - this has not occured in my game before.

After a round of playing darts behind the clothes shop and a hot dog, grilled by Meike, the family head back home. Both children are very tired from the outing and have a nap.

By the time they wake up again, it is late afternoon, and they play outside in the back garden in the golden autumn sunshine.

Alan and Meike frequently roll wishes about swinging round, something I find rather sweet and let them do this whenever possible.

When the air becomes too chilly to remain outside, Mary joins her little sister in the living room, playing with the xylophone.

Upstairs, Meike and her son have a bowl of chili for tea and talk about Alan soon growing up.

Downstairs, Steve has returned from work and joins his daughter at the dining table. Then, one by one the family members go to bed, and the - so far - nicest day of the week is over.

It is Sunday morning, and Alan is allowed to play at his mother's computer to his heart's content.

Mary prefers reading.

Steve dresses little Jean in her Sunday best - the idea is to have a family Sunday, but I discover that Steve hardly knows his half-brother Charlie Cho, and every time he tries to invite him and his wife Tina (nee Traveller) over, Charlie refuses.
(To remind you of who is who: Etsu Cho and Hal Capp had a son together, Charlie. Much later, when Etus's mother Vivian died, Vivian's husband and Etsu's stepfather Timothy Riley discovered his feelings for his stepdaughter Etsu, and they had a son together, too - Steve.
Timothy's daughter Sally Riley was also involved with Hal Capp and had a daughter with him - Meike.
Complicated? Yes, and not what I would have wanted for them, but you know what our Sims can be like sometimes!

After sitting still at the computer for quite a while, Alan needs a bit more physical action and chooses Steve and Wilma's big bed for a bit of fun.

Mary loves Panda very much and can often be seen playing with the wombrat.

All that jumping about on the bed has made Alan rather tired, and he retreats upstairs for a mid-afternoon nap on the settee.

Later, he talks to a friend about how he and Mary are going to grow up soon - just not this round.

I would have loved to play this household longer, but it has taken me long enough as it is! Most of the time, I played the game on normal speed, not daring to fast forward; too easily something can go wrong with a toddler to look after, homework to be done after school and skills to be managed for a promotion. The fire that broke out in Meike's kitchen would have resulted in at least one dead Sim at any other household, but not here!

Playing in "my" house is fun, and I have a few more ideas about how to make it look even more like my real place. Also, I am looking forward to seeing Mary and Alan as teenagers, and little Jean to grow up from toddler to child. Vyn Scott and Amin Fleig are prospective candidates for new residents in New Maximiliania.

It was a bit disappointing that there was no family visit on Sunday, but it just reminded me that I need to have my Sims work on their relationships. Next to be played is Giulianna Riley in TS4.