Miranda takes the plunge

After finishing freshman year, Miranda realized she wanted to be with Alex for the rest of her life, and if she didn't propose now, someone else would.
(That was completely untrue, but hormones affect logic.)
She pulled a diamond ring out of thin air and proposed to Alex.



He said no, as you can obviously tell from the picture.



Just kidding. How many of you were actually convinced he'd said no?

All affairs aside...

Besides bringing a new life into the world, Phoebe got a job as an EMT at the local hospital (where Allen Cummings also works).
Cynthia joined the garden club, but got bad reviews after her first inspection.
Edison was promoted to Bank Robber, and he and Cynthia ended the affair and are now devoted to baby Nikola.

Nikola Chandler

As winter carried on, Phoebe got bigger...



...and bigger...



...until she was about ready to explode.



The baby was a boy, named Nikola, after the famous inventor, by his father.
Despite the fact that his father had been having an illicit affair at the time of his wife's pregnancy and hadn't paid any attention to her at all, he got to name the baby.
Hurray for male-dominated culture.
Awwww, he looks just like mommy....



Here Nikola is barfing on his crappy father. Good boy!

Could this get any more like a twisted soap opera?

Phoebe had been dutifully studying and looking for a job all winter when she one day felt nauseous. A pregnancy test confirmed she was, in fact, pregnant.



Phoebe was pretty mad. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!" She yelled at Edison. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Edison, hurt by his wife's behavior, sought solace in Phoebe's mother, Cynthia.



This was a very sad situation.
Phoebe, oblivious to the significant looks between her husband and mom, decided to vent out her frustrations to the snowman.
The snowman was very understanding....

University Life

Everyone is enjoying college life, especially Allen Cummings, who "visits his sons" in order to use the wonderful dorm facilities.

So far, everyone has gained a little bit of weight. For Alex, it wasn't so much the "Freshman 15" as the "Freshman 50".



Here Miranda is working on her term paper. All of the Sims have completed freshman year with a 4.0.



In other news, Severin changed his major to History, though he isn't sure what his career will be. Jared made 5 best friends, as did Miranda. They've received a total of $12,000 from the college for making the dean's list.

Dominic drops a bomb/Severin finds his soulmate

Dominic couldn't wait to get engaged to his long-time boyfriend Jared. One morning, after a late night "study session", Dominic proposed.



Jared, of course, said yes, and they will be married immediately after they graduate.



Severin was busy studying for the semester exam when he saw a cute blond chick outside his window. He decided to introduce himself.



They'd only just met when Sierra Wilkie (the beautiful girl's name) told Severin how much she liked his vest. A girl who liked sexist guys with big egos? She could only be Severin's long lost soulmate!



It didn't take Sierra long to fall in love with Severin, and vice-versa. They were both Family Sims who longed for commitment. After a couple weeks, Severin decided to propose.



She said yes, but the two will have to wait 3 years to get married. Severin is trying to convince Dominic and Jared to have a double wedding with him.
We're pretty positive the answer will be no.

What have the Jorgens been up to lately?

Before their untimely demise, Ralph made 10 best friends and his sister Betsy maxed out her cooking skills.



Jeannie was promoted to the top of the militairy career track, but was soon fired after starting a war between the kitchen staff over some leftover Beenie Weenies. In order to make herself feel better, she maxed out her charisma skill.



Tessa got the Orphaned Sims Grant and SimCity Scholar Grant for good grades and lack of parents. She asked James Stevens out on a date (they had three bolts of chemistry) and they are now "going steady".



Bex was rejected for her first kiss by Orlando Centowski. Shortly afterwards, her grandfather died, which sent Bex into a period of deep depression.
Fortunately, two scholarships and a makeout session with Terrance Stevens AND Orlando fixed this. She now has her sights set on Angelo Stevens, James and Terrance's brother.

The passing of Ralph and Betsy

Ralph was halfway to his goal of making 20 best friends when the Grim Reaper paid him a visit.



He died in the gold aspiration level, so his grave looks like crap.



Betsy, his sibling, sent his grave to Blueberry Hills Cemetery.
The insurance company gave money to Severin and Bex (Ralph's grandchildren), Jeannie (his wife), and Phoebe Chandler, Jason Cummings, and Miranda Chandler (his best friends).

A day later, it was Betsy's turn. She died in the Platinum aspiration level at the top of her career and got a beautiful new grave.



Tessa, her only grandchild, sent her to Blueberry Meadows Cemetery.



Ironically, she died during Blueberry Meadows' very first snow.

University Sims

Severin Jorgen was the first to reach Academie Le Tour, the college his grandparents had gone to. His goal was to reach his Golden Anniversary, so he decided not to pick a major and just learn a bit of everything.



Jared Cummings was next. Since his goal was to become a Celebrity Chef, he chose to major in Art. Not only would he become a good cook, but he could also paint for a living when he couldn't afford to feed himself.



Jason Cummings chose to major in Psychology to further his career as a Captain Hero.



Monica Chandler had similar ambitions and is also majoring in Psychology.



Alex Stevens chose to major in Physics so he could become a Mad Scientist like his father.



Dominic Chandler's goal to graduate 3 children from college didn't really apply to any of the available majors, so he decided to major in everything like Severin.

Cummings family update

Allen was eventually promoted to Nurse and one step closer to becoming Chief of Staff. He hasn't talked to Pheobe in a while, but that won't stop him, probably.
He's now bringing home 476 Simoleons a day, but with the twins going off to University soon, it's almost like he won't be needing it.



Jared's internal conflict was resolved when he finally asked Dominic out. The two ended up falling in love and are now going steady. Both of their families are fully supportive.



Jared got an A+ and the SimCity Scholar Grant, but didn't get promoted in his job as a Security Guard.
Jason didn't have his brothers luck with grades, but did get promoted to the top of the Culinary career track as a Fast Food Manager. He received the Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship.



Nothing much happened with Sheila, though she is quite adept at catching butterflies now.



As we finish off the first rotation, we'll send some young sims off to college and start over again with the Jorgens.

Sheila's a big girl now

Sheila's toddler years went by fast. She was potty-trained by Allen...



...taught to walk by Jared and Jason (Jason finished the deed)...



...and potty-trained by a reluctant Allen.



Finally, it was time for Sheila to grow into a child.



Jared was not impressed by her choice of guests.



The Cummings boys, who believed strongly in traditional roles (another reason why Jane left), were happy to have a girl around now to clean the house.



The day after Sheila's birthday didn't go so well, though. Both she and Jared missed a day of school due to a bad cold and Sheila started out with a D on her report card.
After she got better, though, she managed to finish her schoolwork and now has a B+.

Be a man, Allen

Delilah O'Keefe had a nasty habit: she found it amusing to break into people's houses, shove around the inhabitants, rearrange their furniture, and then laugh at the whole ordeal.



Here she is roughing up Jared. Jared refused to take that kind of crap from her, and shoved her back.



Delilah then turned her sights on Allen and shoved him around a little bit, in front of the fireflies. The fireflies, of course, were terrified.



Allen, the family rock, started bawling. Yeah, Allen, that'll teach her to respect you.

Meet the Cummings family

Allen Cummings, his wife Jane, and their twin sons Jared and Jason had been living contentedly in Riverblossom Hills for quite some time when Jane found out something shocking: she was pregnant again.
This, of course, should not have been a shocking thing. Allen and Jane were intimate much of the time.
But Allen had had a vasectomy after the birth of the twins.
Filled with shame, Jane left shortly after giving birth to a daughter, Sheila. Allen was heartbroken, but knew his children were depending on him.
After struggling to support his family through various odd jobs, Allen was finally promised a successful career in the Medicine track by a good friend. The only catch: the Cummings family would have to move to Blueberry Meadows.



Allen was a Knowledge Aquarius who'd finally gotten his dream job: working as an Emergency Room Tech in the local hospital. His life time goal was to some day be promoted to Chief of Staff. Though it had been several years after Jane's departure, he hadn't been on a single date. He had his eye on his neighbor Pheobe Chandler, who was also a Knowledge Sim in the Medical Career, but she was married.



Twins Jason and Jared didn't have much in common besides looks and aspirations (both were Popularity Sims). Jared was a Leo who wanted to become a celebrity chef. Jason was an Aquarius, like his dad, and wanted to be a Captain Hero. Another difference between the two was their sexuality: Jared wasn't "gay", but he had kissed Dominic Chandler.... Both teens had gotten jobs in their desired career tracks to help out their dad.



Sheila was the spitting image of her mom, Jane, but her dad didn't seem to mind. She was a very well-adjusted Cancer who learned new skills rapidly.



Ralph Jorgen, who knew EVERYONE in the neighborhood, quickly introduced himself to Allen. He invited his family to spend time with their new neighbor, but it ended up just being him and Allen...alone...by themselves.
Luckily, the meal was far from romantic.