Sep. 11th, 2021 03:10 pm
The Green Family Story: Chapter 9
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avaricesims Generation 1: Living off the Land
You've always dreamed of running your own farm...living in the country, enjoying the fresh air, avoiding the rat race.
Goals:
1. Complete Freelance BotanistPand Angling AceP(founder), and Big Happy Family (spouse)
Goals:
1. Complete Freelance BotanistPand Angling AceP(founder), and Big Happy Family (spouse)
2. Reach the top of the Gardening career
3. Max the gardeningP, fishingP, and flower arranging skills (founder) and the handinessP and parenting skillP(spouse)
3. Max the gardeningP, fishingP, and flower arranging skills (founder) and the handinessP and parenting skillP(spouse)
4. Get married...but no woohoo before marriage P
5. Have at least three children, and at least one boy and one girl P
6. Grow a garden with all types of plants (except the Outdoor Adventure plants)
5. Have at least three children, and at least one boy and one girl P
6. Grow a garden with all types of plants (except the Outdoor Adventure plants)
7. Catch every type of fish (except the Sulani fish)
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It's lovely to be close to family. Basil and Fern both spend a fair amount of time at Brayden's place in Oasis Springs these days. It's the house he grew up in with Christian, redecorated to make it his own.
Sometimes, if she's lucky, they'll take Willow with them. Less content hanging out at home than her teenage siblings, she often takes the opportunity to go to the park down the road from Brayden's house, where she almost never fails to make friends.
Basil and her both are social butterflies, more so than their older sisters. Basil has turned into quite the flirt, actually, and he's forever out on dates with new people. Certainly a different experience to raising Clover! Minkz and I worry about him, but there's no stifling his charm!
Speaking of Clover, she was around recently, and is very pregnant with her first child! Basil was pretty excited to be becoming an uncle soon.
When Clover visited I was out the back working on arrangements in the snow. I'm doing pretty well in my career, have had a few more promotions over the years, and my focus now is honing my skills with the beautiful flowers we grow on the farm.
Minkz also spends plenty of his time crafting the things we need, rather than buying them. He's gotten quite skilled, actually.
He took a break for Clover's visit, though.
He's SO excited to become a grandfather. He wants loads of grandkids, and luckily Clover seems happy to oblige, as Fern doesn't seem to be showing much interest in dating, and Basil has gone the other way and is dating far too extensively to look like he'll settle down any time soon!
As it happened, Clover actually went into labour during her visit. It was time!
Minkz was an old pro at dealing with babies being born in our family by now though. He phoned Morgan, who told us to take Clover to the hospital and she would help with the birth there. Then he phoned Archer, and away we went.
Once Clover was home from the hospital, Minkz was the first one around to visit his new granddaughter. We were so excited to welcome little Nicole into the world!
Around this time we'd also done some redecorating in the cottage. The kids were older, and my fish collection had outgrown the living room walls, so it was moved and we updated the colours. The farm is extremely profitable these days; we have more than we need, even accounting for the money we'd like to give Fern, Basil and Willow to give them a bit of a leg up at whatever they choose to do, so it was nice to refresh our home for our older family.
In winter it's a quieter time for us, so we often take the chance to spend time as a family. Basil met Kaori, who is dating Brayden at the moment, for a game of chess when we took the kids to the park for the day.
Willow would play on the monkey bars and playground all day long if she could.
Minkz and I enjoyed some drinks and spending time together as our children socialised.
We both even tried out skating for the first time, with pretty limited success! We both fell over more often than we made it anywhere, but it was fun.
Willow also made a new friend. Darwin is actually the son of a pretty notable celebrity, Izzy Fabulous, who died tragically a few years back. Darwin is now raised by his sister.
Despite a rough time, he's a pretty great kid. He and Willow get along really well.
Basil, meanwhile, was busy flirting up a storm, as usual. That boy!
Once we got home from the park, Fern let us know what she wanted to do now that she's graduated from high school. She's applied to go to university to study biology! She wants to be a botanist, so she's taking after me in a way, but is more interested in the science of plants than farming and flower-arranging. Minkz and I are delighted she's being true to her interests but also putting her opportunities with education to good use.
There's a long wait to find out if she'll actually get in though, so it's back to work. Willow started high school, Basil was getting okay grades when he stopped paying so much attention to his love life, and Fern kept her barista job to save a bit of money while she waited to hear back from the programs she applied to.
She also got a bit of a head start on her studies by starting to help out on the farm a bit.
Meanwhile, it was hard to believe our youngest daughter was quite so grown up! Isn't she beautiful? She's very trendy; she got her nose pierced, and had her hair done in this stunning sleek style, and all in all I don't think the farming life is going to be for her...
We talk a lot about it over games of chess, which I'm not very good at but she loves. She dreams of the city, the noise and the lights and the people. It's not unexpected, for your children to be very different to you, and I'll be happy for her if that's the life she chooses.
Maybe it will be a little more luxurious than the life I had at her age!
Despite all the good news surrounding our children, though, life cannot always be simple and happy. My best friend Morgan passed away after a short illness, leaving behind her husband Ronny and teenage son Josiah. We were all devastated.
Clover came around to support her siblings. After all, Morgan was like a second mother to them - she delivered most of them, and she's been a big part of our lives since I was a teen.
And Brayden came around to spend more time with Minkz, even helping out in the garden as this is something Morgan used to do a lot. We stayed in close contact with Ronny and Josiah, offering whatever help they needed, but mostly they are just grieving too. I'm really going to miss my best friend.
It's impossible to stand still for too long though. After waiting, working, and saving for a long time, Fern finally got the call she'd been waiting for - she'd been accepted into a Biology program at Brightchester University!
We had to get organised quickly after that. Fern had saved some money at her barista job, but we wanted her to have a great experience at university, so we agreed to pay her fees which meant she could use her wages to pay for a shared room in a lovely little house, rather than a dorm, which we thought would give her more peace and quiet to study. She moved out at the beginning of the school year and into her new student quarters. We're so excited for her!
And just like that we were down to only two kids at home, Basil and Willow, with Basil rapidly nearing his high school graduation too.
Meanwhile, Clover adopted a kitten - Supriya passed away peacefully after a very long and happy life, but their big house in Brindleton Bay felt a little empty after that, so a pet seemed like a good addition.
Clover thought she would keep Nicole entertained, as she's pregnant again, much to our delight. And isn't Nicole growing into a cute wee thing? She has my and her Mum's blonde hair, and also lovely green eyes, definitely taking after Clover more than Archer.
Minkz spends a lot of time with Nicole, but he also still likes fixing things around the place.
He's actually gotten so handy and good with the tools that he managed to find a way into a lovely hidden fishing spot that I can now visit whenever I want. It's been great for adding to my collection!
Minkz might be getting on a bit, like we all are, but he's still working hard in the garden as well. Clover comes around to give him a hand sometimes, as she's a stay at home Mum. She brings Nicole with her, and Minkz absolutely loves it.
In fact, she was around visiting again when she went into labour for the second time! Without Morgan to call any more, Minkz dashed inside to call Archer, then got her straight to the hospital.
After Clover had gone through a second successful delivery and was home from the hospital, Minkz and I went around to visit.
It's lovely to see Clover so settled and happy in her own home, which she has really made into a place for her family since Archer inherited it from his parents.
And how exciting to meet my new grandson, Alfred!
Plus our second new grandson, Luciano! Yep, that's right, Clover had twin boys for her second pregnancy, bringing our number of grandchildren up to three. Alfred is named after my father, and Luciano after Archer's grandfather.
Of course, in all the excitement of meeting the new babies, Minkz is careful to give Nicole plenty of attention so she isn't jealous of her little brothers.
I also got to spend a bit of time reading her a story, which was lovely.
Archer had to go to work, but it was nice to spend a few days at Clover's house to help her settle the new babies in.
We needn't have worried about Nicole being jealous either, she's an easy-going little girl.
Plus, Clover is a fantastic Mum, just like she always wanted to be.
Minkz might adore his grandchildren, but he's also an attentive and loving father to his own kids, even as they're getting older and more independent. Willow asks him for advice all the time.
She and Darwin have stayed close as they've grown older, spending a lot of time together at school, but more recently Darwin started inviting Willow around to spend more time together outside of school too.
I think Willow likes him a lot actually.
As for myself, I've been doing pretty great. I have just about finished my fish collection, and I'm something of an expert at the craft now. Minkz and I have also nearly created the perfect garden on our farm, with just about all of the plants that can be grown here flourishing and selling to local markets and restaurants. My focus now is on perfecting my flower arrangements for work; just one or two more promotions, and I think I'll retire to spend more time at home with Minkz and with our grandkids.
After all, yet another of our babies is flying the nest. Basil graduated high school with decent enough grades, but his real passion is art. He asked for help setting himself up in an apartment in the arts district in the city, as he's built quite a following for himself as an art critic already, and he wants to be closer to where it's all happening. We were more than happy to give him a hand, as with the deposit down he's confident he's earning enough to make a go of it.
And so Basil becomes the first of our kids to go to the big city, though Willow promises she's not far behind him as he goes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's lovely to be close to family. Basil and Fern both spend a fair amount of time at Brayden's place in Oasis Springs these days. It's the house he grew up in with Christian, redecorated to make it his own.
Sometimes, if she's lucky, they'll take Willow with them. Less content hanging out at home than her teenage siblings, she often takes the opportunity to go to the park down the road from Brayden's house, where she almost never fails to make friends.
Basil and her both are social butterflies, more so than their older sisters. Basil has turned into quite the flirt, actually, and he's forever out on dates with new people. Certainly a different experience to raising Clover! Minkz and I worry about him, but there's no stifling his charm!
Speaking of Clover, she was around recently, and is very pregnant with her first child! Basil was pretty excited to be becoming an uncle soon.
When Clover visited I was out the back working on arrangements in the snow. I'm doing pretty well in my career, have had a few more promotions over the years, and my focus now is honing my skills with the beautiful flowers we grow on the farm.
Minkz also spends plenty of his time crafting the things we need, rather than buying them. He's gotten quite skilled, actually.
He took a break for Clover's visit, though.
He's SO excited to become a grandfather. He wants loads of grandkids, and luckily Clover seems happy to oblige, as Fern doesn't seem to be showing much interest in dating, and Basil has gone the other way and is dating far too extensively to look like he'll settle down any time soon!
As it happened, Clover actually went into labour during her visit. It was time!
Minkz was an old pro at dealing with babies being born in our family by now though. He phoned Morgan, who told us to take Clover to the hospital and she would help with the birth there. Then he phoned Archer, and away we went.
Once Clover was home from the hospital, Minkz was the first one around to visit his new granddaughter. We were so excited to welcome little Nicole into the world!
Around this time we'd also done some redecorating in the cottage. The kids were older, and my fish collection had outgrown the living room walls, so it was moved and we updated the colours. The farm is extremely profitable these days; we have more than we need, even accounting for the money we'd like to give Fern, Basil and Willow to give them a bit of a leg up at whatever they choose to do, so it was nice to refresh our home for our older family.
In winter it's a quieter time for us, so we often take the chance to spend time as a family. Basil met Kaori, who is dating Brayden at the moment, for a game of chess when we took the kids to the park for the day.
Willow would play on the monkey bars and playground all day long if she could.
Minkz and I enjoyed some drinks and spending time together as our children socialised.
We both even tried out skating for the first time, with pretty limited success! We both fell over more often than we made it anywhere, but it was fun.
Willow also made a new friend. Darwin is actually the son of a pretty notable celebrity, Izzy Fabulous, who died tragically a few years back. Darwin is now raised by his sister.
Despite a rough time, he's a pretty great kid. He and Willow get along really well.
Basil, meanwhile, was busy flirting up a storm, as usual. That boy!
Once we got home from the park, Fern let us know what she wanted to do now that she's graduated from high school. She's applied to go to university to study biology! She wants to be a botanist, so she's taking after me in a way, but is more interested in the science of plants than farming and flower-arranging. Minkz and I are delighted she's being true to her interests but also putting her opportunities with education to good use.
There's a long wait to find out if she'll actually get in though, so it's back to work. Willow started high school, Basil was getting okay grades when he stopped paying so much attention to his love life, and Fern kept her barista job to save a bit of money while she waited to hear back from the programs she applied to.
She also got a bit of a head start on her studies by starting to help out on the farm a bit.
Meanwhile, it was hard to believe our youngest daughter was quite so grown up! Isn't she beautiful? She's very trendy; she got her nose pierced, and had her hair done in this stunning sleek style, and all in all I don't think the farming life is going to be for her...
We talk a lot about it over games of chess, which I'm not very good at but she loves. She dreams of the city, the noise and the lights and the people. It's not unexpected, for your children to be very different to you, and I'll be happy for her if that's the life she chooses.
Maybe it will be a little more luxurious than the life I had at her age!
Despite all the good news surrounding our children, though, life cannot always be simple and happy. My best friend Morgan passed away after a short illness, leaving behind her husband Ronny and teenage son Josiah. We were all devastated.
Clover came around to support her siblings. After all, Morgan was like a second mother to them - she delivered most of them, and she's been a big part of our lives since I was a teen.
And Brayden came around to spend more time with Minkz, even helping out in the garden as this is something Morgan used to do a lot. We stayed in close contact with Ronny and Josiah, offering whatever help they needed, but mostly they are just grieving too. I'm really going to miss my best friend.
It's impossible to stand still for too long though. After waiting, working, and saving for a long time, Fern finally got the call she'd been waiting for - she'd been accepted into a Biology program at Brightchester University!
We had to get organised quickly after that. Fern had saved some money at her barista job, but we wanted her to have a great experience at university, so we agreed to pay her fees which meant she could use her wages to pay for a shared room in a lovely little house, rather than a dorm, which we thought would give her more peace and quiet to study. She moved out at the beginning of the school year and into her new student quarters. We're so excited for her!
And just like that we were down to only two kids at home, Basil and Willow, with Basil rapidly nearing his high school graduation too.
Meanwhile, Clover adopted a kitten - Supriya passed away peacefully after a very long and happy life, but their big house in Brindleton Bay felt a little empty after that, so a pet seemed like a good addition.
Clover thought she would keep Nicole entertained, as she's pregnant again, much to our delight. And isn't Nicole growing into a cute wee thing? She has my and her Mum's blonde hair, and also lovely green eyes, definitely taking after Clover more than Archer.
Minkz spends a lot of time with Nicole, but he also still likes fixing things around the place.
He's actually gotten so handy and good with the tools that he managed to find a way into a lovely hidden fishing spot that I can now visit whenever I want. It's been great for adding to my collection!
Minkz might be getting on a bit, like we all are, but he's still working hard in the garden as well. Clover comes around to give him a hand sometimes, as she's a stay at home Mum. She brings Nicole with her, and Minkz absolutely loves it.
In fact, she was around visiting again when she went into labour for the second time! Without Morgan to call any more, Minkz dashed inside to call Archer, then got her straight to the hospital.
After Clover had gone through a second successful delivery and was home from the hospital, Minkz and I went around to visit.
It's lovely to see Clover so settled and happy in her own home, which she has really made into a place for her family since Archer inherited it from his parents.
And how exciting to meet my new grandson, Alfred!
Plus our second new grandson, Luciano! Yep, that's right, Clover had twin boys for her second pregnancy, bringing our number of grandchildren up to three. Alfred is named after my father, and Luciano after Archer's grandfather.
Of course, in all the excitement of meeting the new babies, Minkz is careful to give Nicole plenty of attention so she isn't jealous of her little brothers.
I also got to spend a bit of time reading her a story, which was lovely.
Archer had to go to work, but it was nice to spend a few days at Clover's house to help her settle the new babies in.
We needn't have worried about Nicole being jealous either, she's an easy-going little girl.
Plus, Clover is a fantastic Mum, just like she always wanted to be.
Minkz might adore his grandchildren, but he's also an attentive and loving father to his own kids, even as they're getting older and more independent. Willow asks him for advice all the time.
She and Darwin have stayed close as they've grown older, spending a lot of time together at school, but more recently Darwin started inviting Willow around to spend more time together outside of school too.
I think Willow likes him a lot actually.
As for myself, I've been doing pretty great. I have just about finished my fish collection, and I'm something of an expert at the craft now. Minkz and I have also nearly created the perfect garden on our farm, with just about all of the plants that can be grown here flourishing and selling to local markets and restaurants. My focus now is on perfecting my flower arrangements for work; just one or two more promotions, and I think I'll retire to spend more time at home with Minkz and with our grandkids.
After all, yet another of our babies is flying the nest. Basil graduated high school with decent enough grades, but his real passion is art. He asked for help setting himself up in an apartment in the arts district in the city, as he's built quite a following for himself as an art critic already, and he wants to be closer to where it's all happening. We were more than happy to give him a hand, as with the deposit down he's confident he's earning enough to make a go of it.
And so Basil becomes the first of our kids to go to the big city, though Willow promises she's not far behind him as he goes.