Click here for week 12 at this house.
Many years ago, I gave this house to the Ottomas family. They started out with a big family and a small budget, but worked their way up to becoming one of the wealthiest families in all of New Max. They have remained very much down to earth and are as family-oriented as when they began.
Sharla is the only remaining original family member. She is now 76, and very close to seeing her dream of having six grandchildren come true: There five already! In the crib behind her, you can see Gunther Ottomas. He has a twin brother, Otto Ottomas. Both are half-Alien babies by Sharla's son Orlando. Orlando has two more children, twins Mortimer and Alexander, with his fiancee Giselle Goth. That makes four... but who is # 5?
Sharla's 5th grandchild is Gilson Gieke, son of Lisa Gieke and Sharla's son Odell (Odell and Orlando are twins - it runs in the family!).
Gilson and Lisa are also the reason why I am playing here this week, since "Gieke" comes after "Gavigan" on my list.
Lisa is an aspiring Hall of Famer but will do what she can to make Sharla happy.
On this Thursday morning, Orlando, bottle-feeding one of his baby twins, wonders whether Lisa might be pregnant again.
Sharla greets Charles Capp.
Odell returns from work with a promotion to Sports Columnist - his lifetime want is to become Media Magnate, but of course he has not lost sight of his mother's dream, either.
And there is no need to wonder about Lisa being pregnant or not anymore!
Later that evening, she helps Gunther to turn into a toddler.
It is already Friday morning and takes several attempts before Otto, too, becomes a toddler.
Over an early lunch of grilled cheese, Lisa tells Odell that there will soon be another member to their family.
Sharla is over the moon when little Gunther says "Shaa-laa" for the first time.
I later send her to buy groceries, just her - the others are too busy with the little ones.
She makes her purchase, meets and greets a few fellow New Maximilianians and heads back home.
Lisa and Odell are very much in love, but so far, neither has rolled the wish to get married.
Odell and baby Gilson enjoy a bath on Saturday morning.
Sharla takes care of most of the gardening, but her sons and Lisa chip in whenever they have a spare minute, too.
Unfortunately, at work Odell takes a wrong decision and is not only demoted, but fired altogether! He will of course try to get back into the media career as quickly as possible.
Sunday is here, and at 5:52 in the morning, Lisa gives birth to her second child, a little girl named Gisela (in German, the first syllable of Gisela and Gieke are pronounced alike).
Her smile says it all: Sharla has just heard the great news, and with her sixth grandchild, she has finally reached her lifetime want! And not a day too soon; she is now 79 years old and I doubt she would have managed to hold out much longer.
Knowing both the father of her children, their uncle and their grandmother are around, Lisa goes to work in a relaxed and happy mood. It pays off when she is promoted to All Star. She instantly heads back to work...
...and is promoted once more, this time to MVP.
One of her colleagues, Castanea Landgraab, gets off the bus with her but does not look all too happy about Lisa's promotion. (Don't worry, it's just her face - she can't help looking a bit grumpy all the time. After all, she is the late Tybalt Capp's daughter, and he had a similar look on his face almost permanently, too.)
Monday is a beautiful day with golden autumn sunshine. Little Gunther "helps" his Daddy take care of the leaves.
They remain outside to read a book, just as Lisa returns from work with yet another promotion: She is now a Superstar!
But things go horribly wrong when a few hours later, I direct Odell to burn some of the piles of leaves in the garden. I did this of course fully aware of the risk, and it is entirely my fault that the day took such a dramatic turn.
At the same time, Gunther grows up to a child. One moment, he was still a toddler using his potty, and the next minute, he is this big boy - as yet unaware of his uncle's death.
Orlando and Lisa grieve for Odell, and I even have Lisa try to plead with the Grim Reaper. But he disappears before she has a chance. Sorry, Odell!
"Poor little Gisela, you will never really get to know the wonderful man who was your Dad, and my twin brother..." Orlando sighs.
Otto grows up just before the day is over, instantly aware of the loss of his uncle.
Lisa and Sharla fawn over little Gisela early on Tuesday morning.
Otto and Gunther are on their way to the school bus for their first day.
Orlando repairs the trash compactor.
Once the boys return from school and their fun levels have been brought up playing red hands, they sit down to do their homework, assisted by Gran Sharla and Auntie Lisa.
It was the last time the boys spent time with their grandmother - only a few hours later, Sharla is handed her very last cocktail and escorted to the Big Lot in the Sky by Mr. Reaper and his Hula girls.
The house is built in such a way that there are nooks and crannies, and it was impossible to get a proper picture of Sharla without everybody and everything in the way. So I thought, why not a mirror image of one of the girls.
Sharla was 81/82 and the last remaining original Ottomas family member. Good-bye, Sharla! You did well and had a good life, all things considered.
Sharla's loss is very much weighing on everyone, especially so soon after Odell's tragic death. Nonetheless, life goes on, and on Wednesday morning little Gisela turns into a toddler.
The twins return from school with one of their many half-brothers, Chan Cho, in tow.
Also, Otto proudly presents his first A+ report - and it's only been his second day at school!
At 6:00 pm, Gilson grows up and is now as big as his cousins. Lisa serves a celebreatory dinner of spaghetti with meatballs for the boys, but the mood remains somewhat subdued.
The day (and the week) ends with both Lisa and Orlando doing repair jobs in one of the bathrooms.
What a week it has been! Births, deaths, fires, promotions, A+ reports and birthdays - all in the rich tapestry of life!
Will Orlando and his sons stay in the house, or finally move to the Goth villa, where Giselle and his other two children wait for him? Can Lisa manage all on her own, as a young widow with two kids, and no Sharla around anymore to help?
