The Swain-Gavigan Family - Week 11

 Week 10 with this family is here.

Gerlinde Gavigan and Sirius Swain have been an item for a long time now - they have four children together, two sets of twins. Somehow, the wish to get married has never come up. Both are close to elderhood; maybe after their birthdays they will roll the wish, as it has been the case for many a long-term couple in my game.
Gerline and Sirius are both on Permanent Platinum, and so I only control them when it comes to friendships, paying the bills and greeting a Sim walking by.

Here is Gary, one of the younger twins, just getting up on this Saturday morning. He dreams of graduating three children from college - so far, he has not even started college himself, and there is no girlfriend on the horizon who could possibly become the mother of those three.

His older sister Helen wants to be a Celebrity Chef like her Dad.

Clarence is Helen's twin and, as befits a Pleasure Sim, wants to have 50 first dates. Last time I played here, he managed six.

Sirius has only just discovered that their landlord is actually eligible for becoming a resident of New Max: His surname is Lewis, same as in TS4 where we have the Spencer-Kim-Lewis family.

As it is Saturday, no school and no homework distracts Clarence from pursuing his lifetime want. He manages to have two more first dates today, ending at # 8. So far, none of his dates has lasted more than few minutes - the intention is for them not being dream dates or even good ones, just first ones. And he has had no more than two bolts for any girl.

Not only have I forgotten to take a picture of Gavin, I have also not shown the house yet, which is usually the first picture in every chapter. Never mind - here it is; the Swain-Gavigans live in the left one of the two semis.

Gerlinde and Sirius have put up some Christmas decorations for the children, among others the snowman radio that Sirius already had when he was a little boy.

Gerlinde is a World Class Ballet Dancer and practises whenever she has a spare minute.

Helen, our aspiring Celebrity Chef, has not been very fortunate with the waffles she meant to serve for this Sunday breakfast. The family bravely eat them nonetheless.

Here is Gavin, very much coming after his mother. He has full body skill and loves to dance at the ballet barre.

After breakfast (and the smoke in the kitchen from her failed attempt at making waffles), Helen needs some fresh air. Snow covers the ground thickly, and she autonomously plops down to make a snow angel.
Her twin brother Clarence has two more first dates, bringing it up to a total of 10 - that is one fifth of his lifetime want achieved.

First thing on Monday morning, Gavin applies acne cream to the spots that have appeared on his face. He is not the only one in this house with four teenagers!

Clarence has just learned that it is a Snow Day for New Maximiliania - school is closed!

That gives the family the opportunity to visit a community lot together, as it is also Gerlinde's and Sirius' day off. Sirius quickly makes sure the weekly rent is paid before they all board a taxi.

Arriving at the Electronics Super Center, they soon realize that nobody else turns up - maybe the snow has stopped other visitors. They need to stock up on food, too, so their next stop is a groceries store.

Clarence takes advantage of the checkout girl, Nicole Thompson, being a teenager like himself and chats to her - hoping to ask her out on a date soon.

Back home, Helen makes hot dogs for everyone - apparently, it is never too cold to sit outside on the patio! Gerlinde and her sons enjoy the food and the conversation, while Helen and her Dad prefer the dining table in the warm kitchen.

That same evening, Gerlinde and Sirius turn into elders. They are as much in love as ever, and it remains to be seen if either of them - or both - will now roll the wish to get married.

Spring sets in on Tuesday. All the snow is gone, and the school bus patiently waits for all four siblings.

Gerlinde packs away the Christmas things and stores them in the garage for another year, while Sirius goes to work.

After school, Helen insists on making spaghetti for everyone - but again, she over-estimates her cooking skill. This time, she does not only burn the food but manages to set the entire stove on fire! Good job there is an alarm installed.

The firefighter is there in no time, and nobody comes to any harm. The cleaning up afterwards is Helen's job.

On Wednesday morning, Helen wisely opts for a cold breakfast - no touching the stove for her today!

When her children are at school and Sirius is at work, Gerlinde invites their Landlord to finally become a proper resident of New Max: Jason Lewis moves in (and straight back out again)!

He is a Knowledge Sim with the lifetime want of becoming Chief of Staff. His skill profile is rather impressive, and so I guess it won't take him long to achieve that.
As he adds 15,000 Simoleons to the account, I purchase objects worth that amount and put it in his inventory before he sits down at the computer to find his own place.

While he is busy doing that, Gerlinde decides on her own accord to try and pet the skunk - with the usual result.

The children return from school with half-brother Ned Newson in tow.

Helen (who did not make the spaghetti) and Gavin love having a relative their age over for dinner. They talk animatedly about what they want to do when they grow up.

Thursday goes by without any major events. Two of the boys, Gary and Clarence, have breakfast together while the other ones are not hungry enough to eat before school.

Part of the afternoon is spent doing homework.

Clarence has his first dates # 12 and 13. One of them is Margaret Turner - I will have Clarence befriend her, as the surname Turner has recently made its way into the neighbourhood properly.

It is always interesting to see what my Sims are up to when I am not giving them anything to do. Here, Gerlinde is lounging on the settee, while Gary is using it as a trampoline! I didn't expect this to be possible, the jumping while another Sim is resting.

Friday is the last day here, as the family's week began on Saturday.
Sirius is as good at ballet exercises as Gerlinde.

Gerlinde and Helen enjoy a mother-daughter conversation before school.

The late spring sun makes it a pleasant afternoon, and the kids spend it outside after they have done their homework. For Helen, it is the last afternoon home - she will leave for college tomorrow. Here she is, playing a good-bye game with her younger brother Gary. Clarence will go to college, too, leaving just Gary and Gavin with their parents.

The last dinner for all the family before the first two move out! This calls for a celebration, Sirius thinks, and prepares the Lobster Thermidor he has become famous for as a Celebrity Chef.

Yep, that's it! Next time we see Helen and Clarence, they will be at uni.

How will Clarence fare there on the first-dates front? And with their older siblings gone, will Gavin and Gary feature a bit more next round? Are Gerlinde and Sirius going to keep working, or will either of them roll the wish to retire? And are they going to want to get married eventually?

PS: I have sent Helen and Clarence to college now, along with three former NPC-teenagers. You will meet them all soon!