Their first week is here. Carlos Contender's first week with them moving in with him at the end of the week is here.
Last round, the Baldwins moved out from their rented flat and in with Isabel's uncle Carlos Contender. It made sense - why should they keep paying rent when Carlos has a large enough house to share with his niece and her family? Therefore, here we are at No. 310 Bay View Drive in Belladonna Cove.
The upper floor used to look like this, all dedicated to Carlos' boxing. But at 87, he is a happy Hall of Famer and doesn't need the excitement (and risk of injury) of the actual boxing anymore.
The size of the upper floor remains unchanged, but the spiral stairs in the lower right corner now lead to a small landing and hallway with doors off to two bathrooms (one smaller, with a toilet and shower for the kids, one larger with bathtub and a second door, making it an en-suite with the master bedroom in the lower left corner), the master bedroom and the kids' rooms.
Sofia's room is the pink one in the top left corner, Marcus has the blue room while their parents' bedroom is in teal and orange.
The children have their furniture from the flat, while Isabel only brought her coffee machine, an orange vase and three paintings, and Benjamin is content with having everything new - there certainly is enough money for that with over 160.000 Simoleons in the joint account of the Contender-Baldwin family.
On Saturday morning, they have breakfast together (minus Sofia, who is only just getting up).
Benjamin and Isabel are diligently working their way through their respective careers; he wants to be Mayor of The Cove one day, while her contribution to her hometown's welfare shall consist in her being Captain Hero.
Sofia can't wait to grow up and go to College, where she will start on her lifetime want of having 20 lovers. Marcus has no lifetime want or aspiration yet other than to grow up.
Sofia doesn't feel well on Sunday (food poisoning - I wonder where she got that from) and spends good part of the day reading in bed.
Benjamin is a modern husband and father, doing his fair share of household tasks.
Carlos is happy to have his young great-nephew living in the same house now - the two of them can play together anytime now. He is especially close with Sofia, but she's of course too old now for this kind of game.
That evening, Benjamin turns into an Elder. Isabel will follow suit in a few days.
Monday sees a lot of action for the Baldwin-Contender family. The only "boxing" Carlos does these days is having a fun round of "punch you, punch me" with his favourite (and only) great-niece.
Benjamin is promoted to Campaign Manager...
...and Isabel to Vice Squad, while Marcus proudly brandishes his first A+ report.
In the early evening, he grows up into a teenager - sorry, Marcus, I really should have noticed, and prepared something for you!
My dice decides on his aspiration being Fortune, and very fittingly, his lifetime want is to earn 100.000 Simoleons.
He starts right away making his first 100 Simoleons by entertaining his family for tips - everyone loves it, only Sofia prefers to play darts.
Later, she and her beloved great-uncle go jogging together. I told you, they really are very close.
It snows on Tuesday for the first time this year even though it is already midwinter.
It is also Carlos' first working day of the week, and he has a mug of steaming hot coffee before his car pool is due, while Isabel is working on a batch of vegetable soup for later.
The snow is the main topic of conversation at the dinner table after school.
At 1:00 am on Wednesday morning, Marcus gets into a snazzy yellow car. Who is the driver? It is no other than Sally Riley, his best friend - and from the moment he turned into a teenager, he has wanted to sneak out with her. Luckily, all the adults are asleep both when he leaves and when he returns. Phew! So far, there is no romantic attraction between Sally and Marcus, but who knows what spring will bring.
Wednesday is a day off for Isabel and Benjamin, and since the fridge is only half full (or half empty?), they decide to walk to Finer Fare Market intead of ordering groceries.
While Isabel is busy in a different part of the shop, Benjamin secretly buys a beautiful set of jewellery for his wife: earrings, a necklace, matching bracelet and ring.
The couple then proceed to the rooftop espresso bar and have a quick hot drink before Benjamin mentions how nice a large bowl of Isabel's chili con carne would be on a day like this, and they head home before Sofia and Marcus return from school.
It is indeed chili con carne for lunch. It is also Isabel's birthday today, and she announces that she is about to grow into a gracious elderly lady.
Unfortunately, her birthday wish of jewellery remains unfulfilled - while Benjamin did buy a ring and more, the game crashed as they were leaving... and neither the groceries nor the jewellery appear as having been bought. GRRRR!!!
Nonetheless, Isabel age-transitions - unfortunately, into a rather impractical and not very stylish outfit. Maybe she'll have to visit a community lot all on her own to buy new clothes; it might be a chance to get back home without the game crashing if I only send the one Sim.
On Thursday after school, Sofia rushes up to the kids' bathroom and gets the acne cream out. All day she's felt a big pimple building, and now it is time to treat it.
Oh, the joys of puberty!
Meanwhile, her mother returns home with a promotion: Isabel is now a Detective, and obviously very happy about it.
Friday is the last day here, since the week for the Baldwin-Contender family started on a Saturday.
Unfortunately, I lost a few pictures from that day "thanks" to several annoying game crashes, but this one remained, showing Isabel and Benjamin sharing a tender moment before they both leave for work.
The family is gathered round the dining table for Isabel's tasty berry pie that afternoon, celebrating Benjamin now being a State Assemblyperson. (Carlos has gone for a nap and will eat his cake later.)
Sofia is very proud of her Dad, and Isabel is talking about how grown-up the kids are, and that it'll soon be time for college.
That's it - I really like playing this family, and am happy with the conversion of the upper floor, but definitely NOT happy with the ongoing frequent crashes. I have even tried what happens when I go offline once the game is up and running; it doesn't seem to make a difference.
Anyway, we'll soon see them all again when I'll reach C as in Contender on my list. Before that, though, I have another holiday coming up - my third and last one for this year, and then I'll be off work only the days around Christmas and New Year until next year in May. During the next two weeks, I will check blogs and comment, but won't have access to my game.
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