Click here for this family's week 3.
Hello and welcome to the next Capp family we are visiting this round.
Do you remember how this house used to be Tara Kat's place before she met, fell in love with and moved in with Chester Gieke?
It is now the house of Ariel Capp and her family, and bursting at the seams!
Here is Ariel, the lady who was determined to celebrate her Golden Anniversary when we last saw her - and now wants to become Game Designer. Oh dear... sorry, Ariel, you should have thought of that much, much sooner, before you decided wanting to marry off six children.
Now you have one teenager, one school-age kid, three toddlers and a baby - you do not seriously think going out for work every day is an option, do you?
By the way, she is holding her youngest here, and the only girl, little Carrie.
The boy jumping rope is Calogero, the second oldest of the six. In the back, you can see toddlers Carson and Carter quietly playing with their toys.
Ariel's husband (and father of her children) is Isaiah Gavigan-Capp, here teaching a nursery rhyme to the half-Alien son he gave birth to last round, Cassini.
The week with this family starts on Friday, and early in the afternoon, Cataldo (the oldest kid) is doing his homework while his little brother Carson patiently waits for him to finish so that he has time to play with him.
What is Carter doing there?
Growing up!
He is followed a few hours later by Carson. Now there is only one toddler left - Cassini. Phew! And of course Carrie will soon grow up from baby to toddler, but by that time, Cassini should have had his next birthday.
Out go the baby cribs and in come the "big" beds; not an easy task, with the house being rather small in spite of what it looks like from the outside. None of the children has their own room, and at the moment, they do not even have a desk to do their homework at.
But with some moving around of things the school-age children all have their own bed. While Cassini's crib and the changing table is in the same ground floor room where Carter (left) and Carson (right) sleep, Carrie's crib is in her parents' bedroom, and the two oldest boys, Cataldo and Calogero, sleep in the attic.
On Saturday morning, Carter shows off in front of his brother Calogero - I am impressed with how he keeps his bathrobe in place while doing a headstand!
Cataldo, the Knowledge teenager, uses every opportunity to gain skills, and so he makes breakfast for the whole family. His first attempt at toaster pasties is not a huge success, but everyone is hungry enough to eat it anyway - and this family is careful not to waste anything.
With always a lot going on at this house, I nearly miss Ariel's birthday - here she is, an elderly lady in a rather un-ladylike outfit. This will need to be changed as soon as possible. Shame that our Sims can not order clothes like they can order groceries!
Carrie has grown up into a very sweet-looking toddler at the same time, helped along by big brother Cataldo.
And last but not least, Cassini has left the toddler years behind and will go to school with his older brothers for the first time on Monday.
On Sunday, I send Ariel and the four younger boys to a community lot. Ariel really needs something to wear, and to have the boys out for a while will give her husband, their oldest and their youngest child a chance to spend some quality time together.
Excitedly, the boys get off the taxi and start exploring the community lot.
Meanwhile, Ariel makes her purchase. She is still cautious with money, although the family have had some money coming in from various inheritances during the course of the round. All she buys are four outfits - one for each season.
She immediately changes into her new autumn dress and then calls her sons together at the open-for-all grill, serving hotdogs. What a treat - the boys have never had hotdogs before!
Of course that is not all they eat today. Back home, Cataldo has been making grilled cheese and was maybe a little careless with the stove - all of a sudden, it erupts in flames.
A dangerous situation, and Isaiah is unable to do anything, suffering a flashback of the time when their oldest child, Caleb, died in a house fire many years ago.
Good job they had a fire alarm installed back then, and this time, nobody comes to any more harm than a little dirt from the smoke, thanks to the quick action of the fire fighter.
All is well again by the time cousin Cameron Capp walks by and is greeted by Cataldo. Cameron's branch of the Capp clan is not directly related with this family, he does not show as a relative, but the two teenagers look so much alike there is no denying the shared DNA.
Cameron stays for dinner - again prepared by Cataldo, but this time without any incident. The younger kids keep wondering at how much their guest looks like their big brother!
Carter is first up on Monday morning and heads straight for the toy fire truck all the kids love (and even their Mum plays with it sometimes!). But seeing that the others are still asleep, I take advantage of this and send Carter to have a shower - believe me, bathroom management is not easy for a family of eight with only one bathroom that also contains the only toilet in the house!
When the older children are at school, Ariel invites her sister Desdemona, husband Beau (Broke) and their daughter Catherine over. They have not yet met Carrie. Both Carrie's auntie Des and big cousin Cath are instantly smittlen with the little girl, while Beau seems to wonder why women always make such a fuss with babies and toddlers.
Cataldo is the first to come home from school, finishing two hours before his younger siblings. The attic bedroom finally has a desk, chair and book shelf added, and Cataldo is glad to have this quiet retreat for his homework. (I wasn't sure the room under the roof would be large enough, and had to use move_objects on to place the desk, but much to my relief it is playable.)
Chris Capp comes home with the younger boys.
At 6:00 pm, Calogero grows into a teenager - wearing a kilt :-) I like this outfit on him, however, and it will remain. Calogero's aspiration is determined by my dice: Knowledge, just like his older brother Cataldo, and he wants to become City Planner one day. The wish to go to college appears instantly.
Ariel enjoys the fresh air and autumn sunshine in the garden on Tuesday.
The younger boys all bring home A+ reports today, Cassini being the first to come running in to show his Dad.
Mary Riley gets off the school bus with the boys.
And we have another birthday: At 6:00 pm, it is Isaiah's turn to cross the threshold to Elderhood. If he wants to reach his lifetime want of marrying off six children, his kids better get a move on!
I find Isaiah holding Carrie early on Wednesday morning. A tender father-daughter moment, both look as if they are enjoying this quiet time before everyone else is up.
It was Carrie's very last potty break today - she is now big enough to use the toilet :-) Naturally, she has also outgrown her baby crib and needs a big bed like the rest of her siblings - more moving around of things is necessary, and all the baby/toddler items are put away.
Thursday is the last day of this week with the Capp-Gavigans.
Today, the teenagers bring their cousin Gary Gavigan home from school. His mother is Gerlinde Gavigan, one of their father's younger sisters.
Alan Riley hops off the school bus with the younger kids.
For Carrie, it was the first day at school, and Ariel supervises her homework - not a bad idea with Carson and Carter, either.
Meanwhile, you can see Cataldo in the background, waiting for the taxi to pick him up and take him to college. Yes, I have decided to send him early, although he still has quite a bit of teenage time left. But if I want Isaiah to have a realistic chance at reaching his lifetime want, it is vital to have the children grow up sooner rather than later.
We are of course going to check on Cataldo at college soon; for now, this busy household will be left to its own devices for a long time.
I enjoyed playing here, but it took me a long time to complete the week; with toddlers and older children around, I played most of it on normal speed so that I could take care of everything without any major catastrophes.
Next up is Calendula Capp's household; quite a change that will be to this large family!
