Droves of Groves: A Life States Dynasty

[peachjam]

Chapter Eight: Love is in the Air

This is Bret Valenzuela.



This is Antoine Grogan.



This is Rob something-or-other.



This is Kendall Rich.



Are all of these boys cute? Yes they are! Are any of them potential spouses? No they are not! ALL FOUR are babysitters.

Maybe we'll have better luck at prom?





(Unfortunately, they're all wearing their outdoor clothes here, not their formal wear.)

Prom goes relatively well; Bethany is Prom Queen, Benjamin is Prom King, and Brayden walks away with a Romantic Interest (Rob what's-his-name). No luck for Bethany, though. She invites Kendall over, but he's already aged up to Young Adult.



That's Annette asking if he's single. Well, if he's not an elder by the time Bethany ages up, I guess he could still be an option. (Also, my RL wife's name is Kendall. I'm slightly biased toward the name. )

In the meantime, though, Bethany needs a Romantic Interest. So...



Hello, Sara Tomlin! (And Sara is MY name. I'm going to have to set Kendall Rich and Sara Tomlin up just on principle.)



Better pic of Sara.



Awww, young love.



Soon to be young heartbreak. Sorry, Sara. If same-sex couples in the Sims could have babies, the world would be a better place. (Maybe one day I'll do an adoption legacy and then I can have ALL THE GAY.)

Meanwhile...



It's birthday time! Brielle first, because those seconds matter.





She rolls Computer Whiz.

Bella's turn:







She rolls Family-Oriented. Good thing, in a family of 8!







Bailey also rolls Computer Whiz. I foresee a lot of squabbling over laptops in her and Brielle's future.

The girls get to work on their skilling.



Bella's Disciplined, so she'll get a head start on athletics.



Bailey and Bethany, our resident Geniuses, duke it out at the chess table. (That's Bethany's cemetery worker outfit. I know, Beth, those pants pain me too.)



Virtuoso Brielle can't play any instruments yet, so she bonds with big brother Benjamin instead.



And, of course, Bethany gets right to the tutoring.

[peachjam]

It's the girls' first day of school!



Unfortunately, they don't show up on the bus. I guess 6 kids is too many for all those empty seats.



Thanks to Bethany's tutoring, all three get As pretty much right away. Bella also joins the scouts, while Brielle takes up ballet. Loner Bailey prefers to stay home.



That's her in her new room; Bella and Brielle share the (updated) nursery.

Sister bonding time!







That's Brielle and Bella having a frolic. Then all three head out to the treehouse:







The next day, a Groves-wide game of tag ensues.



Benjamin does not approve.



He does quite like playing pranks, however.



And making ridiculous-but-adorable street art within his own house.



Meanwhile, Annette's finally (finally!) been able to go back to work, for the first time since the original triplets were born. She makes a lovely mad scientist.



And has far too much fun with experiments.



The microwave is now sonic. Not sure the Doctor would approve.

Guess what's up next! You'll never guess!!!!!

... Yup, it's birthdays.





Brielle rolls Commitment Issues. No one is surprised.





Bella rolls Excitable.





Bailey, ever studious, rolls Bookworm. Again: no one is surprised.

[Nettlejuice]

Aw, how cute the game generated townies with your name and your wife's =D Do you play Sims 4? It's possible to have same-sex pregnancies.

Brielle, Bella and Bailey remind me of the three fairies/witches (?) from Sleeping Beauty, again the traits go so well with their personalities.

[PeregrineTook]

The kiddos have all turned out so cute!
Loving how much effort you put into showing them as a big, happy family  :=)

[peachjam]

Aw, how cute the game generated townies with your name and your wife's =D Do you play Sims 4? It's possible to have same-sex pregnancies.

Brielle, Bella and Bailey remind me of the three fairies/witches (?) from Sleeping Beauty, again the traits go so well with their personalities.

0_0!!!!!! It's possible to have same-sex pregnancies in Sims 4? Brb throwing away $60 that I don't have

Seriously though, I haven't heard much good about Sims 4 (do they still not have toddlers?), but that certainly changes things! I can't believe I didn't know thaaaat.

I told my wife that there was a Sara and Kendall in my game and she was like awww, that's cute. Then I told her the Kendall was a boy and she got all indignant. Lol, sorry honey.

The kiddos have all turned out so cute!
Loving how much effort you put into showing them as a big, happy family  :=)

Hee, thanks! I come from a pretty big family (I'm the middle of 5 kids), so family dynamics are really important to me.

[peachjam]

Chapter Ten: Ch-ch-changes

Luckily for Annette and Mason, we don't have 6 teenagers for long. The day after the girls age up, it's the first set of triplets' turn.

Benjamin:







His final traits: Disciplined, Eccentric, Rebellious, Snob, and Adventurous. He picks Seasoned Traveler as his LTW.

Brayden:







Final Traits: Brave, Friendly, Easily Impressed, Photographer's Eye, Hopeless Romantic. D'awww. He wants to be a Firefighter Super Hero.

Bethany:





Wow, she looks like her mother. Here's a pic to prove it.



Also, this is the first of MANY times that I will send Bethany to the mirror to change her hairstyle. I just couldn't decide!

For now, here's her everyday outfit:



Her final traits are Genius, Artistic, Grumpy, Socially Awkward, and Eco-Friendly. She didn't really get any good options for her LTW, so I picked Zombie Master. Maybe she'll get to it one day.

In the meantime...



Hello, werewolf-ified Corren Dwyer!



And hellooo, werewolf-ified Orion Lawless (Corren's adoptive brother).





Well, that was fast. Guess our next gen will be werewolves!

It's time for some major changes in the Groves household. First, now that they're teens, the girls head off to boarding school.



Brielle on her way to LeFromage Art School.



Bella heads to Dribbledine Sports Academy.



Bailey picks Smuggsworth Prep School.

Brayden and Benjamin, meanwhile, move out to a little house nearby. (I apparently forgot to take pictures. Shame on me!) First, though, Brayden becomes a firefighter and Benjamin joins his mother in the science career.

Also, Mason beats up a burglar while Bethany wanders around in her pajamas.



The next morning, it's graduation time!





Bethany is valedictorian and voted Most Likely to Take Over the World. It must be the zombie thing.

I moved the boys out before graduation, so I didn't get to see their epithets. I was pretty excited to see them, though.





Mason and Annette take the whole family out to celebrate at Miser McCann's. It's Bethany's last break for a long while; tomorrow, it will be time for her to get to work in earnest.

[PeregrineTook]

Wolf-boos!!  Lots more adorable just waiting to happen  :=)  No rush, though, as Bethany (and her current hairstyle) are loads of fun!

[Nettlejuice]

I can definitely see the resemblance between Annette and Bethany. Sending the triplets to boarding school and moving the boys out must now be so much more hasslefree. Wereboos are going to be adorable, especially if they have the pink hair.

There used to be a mod for same-sex pregnancies but now that Eaxis has officially patched it in everyone can enjoy the benefits (Sims can also have a more masculine/feminine figure, choose to be sterile and wear clothes from either gender. Hope you and Kendall enjoy Sims 4!).

[AnnaBeth]

Hey! Just caught up with this story and omg your sims are adorable! As for same-sex pregnancies in sims 3, they're not possible without mods, but if you don't mind mods, nraas's Karma Simtra mod allows same-sex couples to have biological children in Sims 3.
I get it about sending the girls to boarding school tho - I send my in-game kids to boarding school as it allows me to focus on their personalities as teens.  It sure helps to get a few out of the way when you've got a family this big!  Can't wait to see these wolfboos 

[peachjam]

I am learning ALL the things today! I've never used any mods, but from following a few stories on here, I've been getting very interested in the story progression one. I'll definitely need to grab that Karma Simtra one, too!

Yes, it's much easier with the girls away at school and the boys moved out. Bethany loves her siblings, of course, but she needs time to herself too. (I know the feeling, Beth.)

Thanks so much all for commenting! This is the nicest board, you are all wonderful .

[PeregrineTook]

I am learning ALL the things today! I've never used any mods, but from following a few stories on here, I've been getting very interested in the story progression one. I'll definitely need to grab that Karma Simtra one, too!

Yes, it's much easier with the girls away at school and the boys moved out. Bethany loves her siblings, of course, but she needs time to herself too. (I know the feeling, Beth.)

Thanks so much all for commenting! This is the nicest board, you are all wonderful .

If you are installing mods, make sure you don't add them to this dynasty unless you don't mind missing out on Hall of Fame status.  It will instantly make you ineligible!

[peachjam]

Thanks for the heads-up! I actually may disqualify myself from HoF anyway, because the celebrity system is just getting TOO annoying. I'm desperately tempted to just turn the stupid thing off, rules or no rules .

Still, I'll wait until after I'm done this game to play around with mods. I don't want to risk anything happening to the Groves due to my general technological incompetence, lol.

[peachjam]

Chapter Eleven: The First Goodbye

Mason Sackholme has had a long (tattoo-enhanced) life. He's gotten married, had 6 beautiful children, reached the top of his career, and mastered 3 different skills (athletic, logic, and cooking).





He's best friends with all of his children and deeply in love with his wife.





He's had a lot of fun, and taken down a lot of criminals, especially in the middle of the night when he gets called in to work at 1:00 a.m. And that's where he is when the inevitable happens.





Goodbye, Mason. You will be very, very missed.





To ease her distress, Annette goes to visit her sons.





They help her remember that she still has plenty of love and light in her life. She makes sure to talk to her daughters, too, far away though they may be.



As it so happens, though, they won't be far for long! Turns out that when you add someone into the household, the kids automatically come back from boarding school. And Bethany wastes no time in getting her boyfriend, Orion Lawless, to move in.



... Where he promptly has his elder birthday. Good thing Bethany's been working so hard at that chemistry table! (Okay, this is actually one of Mason's potions, because Bethany's farther in her alchemy than her logic. Don't tell Orion that, though.)







I sure do love that purple hair. Let's show it off some more.



That's better! Oh, and here come the girls.



Bethany takes a break from greeting her sisters to get her hairstyle changed. This won't be the last time.



She and Orion take some time to bond.





But for the most part, Bethany's doing this:



And this:



It certainly is nice to have a werewolf in the house, though.

[Nettlejuice]

Aw, RIP Mason =( Was there a reason you didn't give him a Young Again potion and just move him out?

Purple hair and green eyes, I'd love to see the next gen heir have the combo too. When will Bethany settle with one hairstyle? I have that trouble too, can't decide what to go for with some Sims.

[peachjam]

Aw, RIP Mason =( Was there a reason you didn't give him a Young Again potion and just move him out?

Purple hair and green eyes, I'd love to see the next gen heir have the combo too. When will Bethany settle with one hairstyle? I have that trouble too, can't decide what to go for with some Sims.

It makes me sad when spouses move out tbh. Plus, much as I love Mason, I'm trying to keep some houses open for more townies to move in. Not that it's working so far....

It is really annoying, though, because for whatever reason in their family trees it now shows Annette and (ghost) Mason each as single. It messes up all the pretty lines!