Sunday, August 26, 2007

Chapter 8: Gen. 2 Wedding

People in formal wear. That can only mean one thing . . . . a wedding!


We are here today to celebrate the marriage of Alexander Bertino and Ivy Copur.


May I present the next heir and his wife: Alexander and Ivy Bertino! A small ceremony with family and a few friends.


Cutting the cake.


Ivy eating cake with her new mother in law.


Toasting the happy couple.


More toasts.


To the lovely bride!


Great party, now it's off to the honeymoon.


Returning home.


Loving embrace.


So, I think you guys have a responsibility to fulfill here being the next couple in this legacy.


Time to get some heirs! I'm such a slave driver.


That was fun!


Discussing their fabulous wedding party.


Ivy heads off to work, she surprised me, she is a knowledge sim who works as a professional party guest and has over 20 friends. At first I didn't think much about all her friends but they became a pain in the ass when they started harassing the family with calls to keep up the friendships!


Dagmar practices her charisma skills for a work promotion.


Ivy feels perfectly at home, as evidenced by her arrival at breakfast in her underwear, here enjoying a nice pancake breakfast, a family tradition by now.


Were the pancakes undercooked or is there something else more basic at work here?


Alexander the dutiful husband cleans up the mess.


Husband and wife playing chess.


A bump!
This family does not under cook their pancakes!


Dagmar taking care of her new flowerbeds.


Ivy playing the piano to the future heir.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Chapter 7: Interlude

Birthday time in the Bertino home yet again. This time Astrid and Anthony prepare to become adults.


The birthday girl after her transition.


Family pancake breakfast.


Astrid hanging out in the hot tub.


Alexander working at his science station from work.


Derek and Dagmar taking advantage of the hot tub right outside their bedroom.


Whoohoo!


They still know how to have a good time.


Time for Astrid and Anthony to move out of the family home.


Only there was a weird glitch and when I reloaded the lot they were standing there with cakes in their hands, which was a little freaky.


Lets try this again, Anthony leaves home.


Astrid leaves later that evening.


Derek is now on the swat team at work.


Poor Alexander came home from work one day and had a breakdown on the front lawn. He had made a serious mistake at work and lost a lot of the important research his team was working on. The stress and implications of what happened proved too much and he just lost it.


Dr. Who came down to evaluate him.


Despite things looking bad Dr. Who was able to help Alexander recover. He prescribed some bed rest and medication and when Alexander went back to work he and his co workers were able to recover much of what had been lost.


With his breakdown behind him and his position at work better than ever after much hard work, Alexander invites Ivy over.


He loves her so much and he decides that now is the time to propose something that he's been thinking about for a long time.


Ivy accepts and now begins the crazy process of planning the wedding.


In other matters Derek is still working on his body points to get ahead at work.


Dagmar has achieved the pinnacle of her career, becoming chief of staff at the Pleasantview hospital.


More improvements to the family home. The wedding arch and chairs are set up for the upcoming nuptials.


Another out building is set up to house the various career objects the family is collecting. The storage room contains the baby things, which will be brought out when Ivy and Alexander have their own little ones.


Alexander treats himself to a new, more powerful telescope.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Chapter 6: Love is in the Air

Derek and Dagmar's teens were well behaved for the most part and did well in school. Here Astrid and Anthony show off their good marks to their dad while Alexander plays the piano in the background.


Alexander continues to be a good older brother, spending time with both Astrid and Anthony.


All three teens got after school jobs to earn extra money and some work experience for when they graduate from high school.


Derek decided that the political career track wasn't where he wanted to be anymore and so he switched careers and went back to the police force.


At Pleasantview High Astrid met a guy she thought was really cute. His name was Hector Caliente and she was so excited when he accepted her invitation to hang out after school one day.


They really seemed to hit it off and Astrid was surprised and hurt when she leaned in to kiss him before he went home and he backed off and left in a hurry.


Astrid was crushed over being rejected for her first kiss and she spent the next week crying all the time. Her twin Anthony was there for her with a hug when she needed one.


Meanwhile life continued in the Bertino household. One day a girl that no one in the family had met before wandered into their house and started playing chess. Astrid really wanted to make some more friends so she went over and joined her.


Astrid ended up with a good friend but she never did figure out why Merissa wandered into their home.


A big promotion was coming up for Derek but he knew that in order to get it he needed to be in better shape. So out comes the track suit as he puffs away to the oldies.


Finally the time has come, Alexander's birthday and his transition into adulthood. He has been chosen as the heir for this generation.


The family cheers him on.


Alexander, knowledge sim that he is went straight for the telescope now that he didn't have to worry about school and homework the next day.


Alexander knew he had to find someone to marry and continue the legacy with and he had a particular sim in mind. He had met Ivy Copur when he was still a teen and thought that she was beautiful.


As soon as he could he invited her over to woo her. Here he uses the same technique his father used to get Dagmar. Back massages really seem to create a relaxed, loving atmosphere.


They danced a bit.

And discussed the possibility of a future together over a bowl of chili.


Alexander heads off to his job in the science career track.


Meanwhile. . . .

Over at the Caliente's Hector can't stop thinking about Astrid. He can't believe he just left her standing there when she tried to kiss him. At the time he was just scared (although he knew that was a lame excuse). He really liked Astrid but was afraid of making a mistake, how could he be sure that Astrid was the girl that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with?


Still, he couldn't get her out of his head and couldn't stop beating himself up over how he had treated her.


He decided to talk to his mom and see if she had any advice for him.


With thoughts of his future family in his head he decides his mom is right. He needs to talk to her in person. So he heads to the phone to invite her over, he just hopes she won't refuse to see him. Luckily she happens to be heading by his house on the way to the corner store and agrees to stop by and hear him out.


Once she was over Hector did his best to apologize for how he had treated her and asked whether she could possibly forgive him. Hearing his apology Astrid decides to forgive him. Then before anything else could happen Hector kissed her and they both felt that tingly falling in love sensation.


Hector knew his mom was one parent who wasn't going to interfere with his date. He was so happy that Astrid still felt the same about him and was willing to forgive him. He wasn't about to let her go again.


A full on teenage make-out session. Ah, young love!


Later they snuck out, Astrid picking him up in a fancy car (Not quite sure where she got that from). They managed to not get caught which was good because although Hector was sure he wouldn't get into trouble, Astrid wasn't so sure her parents would be as understanding.


Back at home Dagmar was making a lot of friends.


Astrid and Anthony worked hard at learning new skills. The podium being used for something besides amplifying burps!


Anthony reaches the top of his teen career working for a local businessman.


True to his early dreams Derek has a piano and makes sure to keep it in tune.


Derek's job is quite physically demanding and he continues to work out hoping for more promotions.


I had to include this photo of Anthony and Astrid looking totally embarrassed at their parents pda.


I love these two photos of the kids showing of their report cards while their dad contorts himself into various yoga positions.


Anthony tries very hard to get his dads attention.


Dagmar meets the grocery delivery guy in her undies, he certainly got an eye full.


Breakfast is a quiet time for the Bertino's.

The upstairs is remodeled with a new bedroom for Dagmar and Derek because the master bedroom/nursery is going to be for Alexander and his future wife.


Bedrooms for the kids.


Exterior views of the house, it certainly has grown from its meager beginnings. The small building at the back is a storage shed for unused items.



The rear view, Dagmar and Derek's room has access to the deck with the hot tub!