The Villaloboses - Round 1

Starring:

Santiago Villalobos, Elder Fortune Sim, LTW Own 5 Top Level Businesses

Vincente Villalobos, Teen Romance Sim, LTW Become Celebrity Chef

Catalina Villalobos, Child Fortune Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

Dorotea Villalobos, Child Family Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

Diego Villalobos, Child Fortune Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

~*~*~*~*~

The Villalobos family has a dark secret. Abuelo Santiago knows it and was forced to tell his grandson Vincente because, at Vinnie's age, he knew something was up. The three children, Catalina, or Cat, as she prefers, Dorotea, or Dot, and Diego know nothing about it. They think their parents died while out of the country visiting their home in Columbia. But Santiago and Vincente know the truth - their parents fled one night, hopping a plane to return to their home country in South America, chasing the promise of riches they knew they could make in less-than-forthright doings. The promise of money made their children seem like a burden, an unsurmountable barrier to their ability to live lives as free and fancy as they pleased. So one night, they left their children with Papa Villalobos' father Santiago and slid a note under the door: We're gone. Don't try to find us. Raise the children or don't...they're not our concern anymore. Here's a check for your trouble, old man.

Santiago found the note and was immediately enraged, to the point where he could have strangled his son and daughter-in-law if he saw them again. But he knew one thing...he wouldn't fail his grandchildren, and he would never let them know the truth about their wretched parents. They would grow up feeling all the love Santiago had in his old heart, and they would learn to appreciate their family.

He packed up their bags and moved them to Rosebud with the money from selling his tiny house, purchasing things for the children with the money the kids' parents left. Settling into their new home, the children were sad, but resigned to the fact that life would be very different from now on.



All three children had heavy hearts, and they were too sad to notice that there were no tears in Abuelo Santiago or Vinnie's eyes.

Trying to make the best of it, the girls (who were inseperable before and even more so now) played catch on the lawn while Vinnie, Diego, and Abuelo Santiago worked on various projects inside, all of them trying to distract themselves.

Soon, some guests showed up to welcome them to the neighborhood, having seen the moving trucks a few days before and finally seeing signs of life in the house. Vyn Scott, Rose Dai, and Leo Wilkie stopped by to make the introductions of the Villalobos family.


Grateful for the warm welcome, the family visited with their guests for a while. Abuelo Santiago knew how important it was for them to have some family time, though, and graciously said goodbye to their visitors so he and his nietos could sit down to their first family meal in the house. Eating together was a big rule in the Villalobos house, but none of them minded it. In fact, it gave everyone a sense of solidarity that soothed them all.


Before bed, Abuelo Santiago played with Diego, holding him while the little boy stood on his abuelo's feet so they could "dance."


But soon it was time for bed, and the girls turned in.


After kissing them goodnight, Abuelo Santiago was next.


And finally, Vinnie and Diego turned in as well. They all slept very soundly that night, exhausted from the newness of their lives.




The next morning, they all sat down for breakfast before the kids had to go to school.


When they left, Santiago began practice on his pottery wheel. He wasn't sure, but he thought if he could get good enough at it, he might be able to earn some income for the family. He had a bit of savings, but it wouldn't last long with one hungry teenager and three little ones in the house.


Vinnie came home from school just after lunchtime to find Abuelo Santiago napping. Tiptoeing down the hallway, he practiced painting for a little while because it was fun...and quiet.


The quiet didn't last long, though, as Diego, Cat, and Dot came home a few short hours later, bringing a new friend from school with them: Amber McArthur. All three kids really enjoyed playing with Amber. She seemed really nice and was really good at playing Cops and Robbers.


They all stayed outside and played until it got dark, and then Amber had to go home.


The children were sad to see her go, but Catalina made her promise to come back soon, and squeezed her tight before she left.


Catalina sweetly approached her grandfather that night, batting her big eyelashes. "Abuelo, would you please help me with my homework? I can't get the math right." Being both a sucker for his nietos and having quite a head for numbers, he was happy to oblige.


Diego was the next to ask, and though Santiago was tired, he was determined to treat them all equally, and stayed to help Diego with his spelling.

The girls played while Diego finished his homework, and Dot decided she was too tired to do her homework that night, promising to do it in the morning before school. Abuelo Santiago agreed with a stern but loving tone that she most certainly would. Secretly, he was relieved. Having this many young children in the house exhausted him quickly.


As promised, the next morning, Abuelo Santiago woke up early and helped Dot with her homework. Then it was off to school with all of them.


That afternoon, more guests stopped by, including Santiago's friend Roisin Cleary. Roisin had invited him over a few times, including for Roisin's granddaughter's birthday party.


They let the younger ones stay outside and went to the living room to watch some tv. They got to talking, and Santiago got an idea. Yawning, he stretched his arm over the back of the couch and let it softly fall to Roisin's shoulders. True, it was an amateur move, but he felt like a teenager again, his heart pounding quickly with fear of her rejection.


To his pleasure, she didn't resist, and though Vinnie seemed non-plussed, the simple contact soothed both Roisin and Santiago, who were both suffering through some pretty difficult times at the moment. Santiago himself hadn't been this near a woman since his wife had died ten years prior. Roisin's loss was more fresh, but she missed the simple affection of her husband.


They quickly became best friends as they clasped hands. "You bring light to this old man's life, cariño," Santiago said softly, squeezing her hand.

The children were still outside, and Roisin slid onto Santiago's lap, feeling like a teenage girl again. She gave him a soft peck, thanked him for everything, and excused herself to go home to her family, a soft blush on her wrinkled cheeks as she walked home, her heart light.


Back in his home, Santiago knew he was smitten with her. He wasn't sure what the future held for them, but he knew he was happy to have someone as wonderful as Roisin in his life.


The next morning, Santiago surprised Vinnie. With the last of the money Vinnie's parents had left, Santiago bought Vinnie a little car. "It's not much, I know," Santiago said, "but I figured a young man like you needed a way to get out once in a while." Santiago put a kindly hand on his grandson's shoulder, knowing it was hardest for Vinnie knowing the truth about his parents. Vinnie didn't express much emotion, but he put his hand over his grandfather's. "Thank you, Abuelo," he said simply, voice a bit husky. That morning, he drove to school instead of taking the bus with his little siblings, feeling a sense of freedom as he took off down the street.


Even though Santiago loved his grandchildren more than anything, sometimes he appreciated the silence and solitude of the house when they were all off at school.



That afternoon, Vinnie came home with an A+ report card, cheering for himself and running in to show Santiago. Santiago's eyes teared up, and he quickly recovered himself. "Ah, my Vinnie is a genius!" he exclaimed happily, clapping the boy on the shoulder.


That evening, the children brought home two friends. Diego brought home Nerissa Chan, and Catalina brought home Amber McArthur.


Diego was kind of quiet sometimes, and he wasn't as close to his sisters as Cat and Dot were to each other, but he was a good-hearted kid, and he and Nerissa became fast friends. Nerissa liked him because he made her laugh.


True to the rules, Abuelo Santiago made their two guests go home before dinner time, and the children sat down to have some time together while Santiago called Amber and Nerissa's parents to let them know the two girls were on their way home.


It was Friday night, but that didn't mean there wasn't homework still to do. Abuelo helped Catalina again.


And Vinnie, with his A+, felt brave enough to help Dot with her work. Diego was exhausted from having run around with Nerissa all afternoon, and he was asleep before anyone else in the house. The girls were getting restless with their homework, so they stopped before their homework was done, with the promise to work on it by themselves the next morning.

First, they took a little time to have a super-fun pillow fight before bed, though.



Early the next morning, Diego woke up, and Santiago came out to find him in his pajamas in the living room. "Good morning, Diego," he greeted him with a smile. "Did you bring home any homework this weekend?" Santiago prompted. Diego grudgingly admitted he had brought home some work. "Why don't I help you work on it a bit this morning. Then you'll have all the rest of the weekend to play and won't have to worry about it?" Diego assented, and they sat down to work. Diego appreciated how kind his abuelo was. His parents never really cared if he did his homework or not, let alone took the time to help him with it.


It went twice as fast with Abuelo helping him, and Diego was so relieved when he finished that he threw his arms around his grandfather's neck. "Thank you, Abuelo. I love you," he said, squeezing the old man until Santiago swore he felt something crack. He didn't mind, though.



The rest of the family slowly woke that morning, and Dot and Cat decided to finish off their homework too, while Vinnie made some breakfast. Vinnie didn't feel as close to his siblings as they were to each other or as they were to their grandfather. The knowledge of the truth about his parents sometimes made him feel alone in the house, but he helped out as best he could, cooking and cleaning to help Abuelo Santiago keep up.


They sat down for another family breakfast that morning, lazy in their pajamas, as Diego talked about school.


After breakfast, Vinnie and Santiago hung out for a while, Santiago asking what Vinnie was thinking about doing for college, how he was feeling. Vinnie really wanted to be close with his grandfather, and vice versa, and even though Santiago's old bones didn't agree with floor-sitting, he and his grandson became best friends that day.


Since the children had been so good about doing their homework, Abuelo Santiago allowed them to invite over their friend Amber McArthur again. Like Nerissa, she was very taken with Diego. The two girls, Cat and Dot, seemed to need no one other than each other, but Diego loved his new friends dearly.


Next week, the Villalobos children transition into teens. Will Vincente go away to college? Will his siblings? Will Santiago find a way to earn some income for the family while still remaining home to care for the children? Will he buy a double bed and invite Roisin over for a sleepover? We'll see! But stay tuned for the last family of the neighborhood, the Tanakas.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Scoring:

Five new sims: 5

Net worth to be added to the neighborhood total: $28,282

[[Author's Notes: ARRRGGHHH THE SCHOOL BUS GLITCH!!! I had the same problem with this family that I did with the Vincis, where the children would come home with the teens on the bus, not bring homework, then be marked absent for school that day. It resulted in Salvatore being taken by the social worker last time, and I was determined not to let it happen this time. I don't know how to FIX the glitch, but I was able to discover a way to counteract the effects and keep the social worker away.

The second day that the kids all went to school, they came home at 1 with Vinnie, and I got this Hrm. I brainstormed a bit, and I figured maybe if Vinnie didn't take the bus, it would eliminate the glitchiness when the bus arrived. So I splurged on a cheap car (and had to find a way to explain it away in the storyline). The next morning, I sent the kids off to school on the bus, and I let Vinnie stay until the bus left the lot. He drove off, and I was very excited to see what would happen. Well, at 1 p.m., Vinnie drove up, and when he did, VOILA, MAGICAL SCHOOL-SKIPPING CHILDREN. -.- Annoyance! So determined to see if I could avoid them missing another day, I had Santiago immediately go out and drive them BACK to school. They came home at 3 p.m. on the school bus WITH their homework, so I was relieved. It is incredibly annoying that they come home with Vinnie and then have to be returned to class, but at least this prevents their grades from going down and their homework from playing a disappearing act. I also notice that there is one nice side effect to this glitch: Vinnie, when he comes home at 1 with a bunch of magical tagalongs, also does not bring his homework. However, he remains an A+ student no matter how many nights he doesn't bring home homework, so long as he goes to school. Neat.

I ended up not taking as many pictures this round for two reasons: (1)I was flailing wildly at the screen because of the school bus glitch. (2)I think they are so incredibly cute and fun to play, I forgot to take pictures sometimes. This family seems so uncannily close to one another, naturally. The two girls are ALWAYS together, and they ALWAYS want their abuelo's attention. Vinnie is the most standoffish, but I figure, eh, he's a moody teenager. I cannot WAIT for these children to transition into teens. I only can't decide whether to send them off to college with Vinnie or let him go at the beginning of round 2, then the children go at the beginning of round 3. I think I might do that to keep the age difference in tact.

Also...Santiago and Roisin??? SO CUTE. I officially love this house more than ice cream and kittens. Plus, Diego is going to be a total pimp when he gets older. The little ladies already love him. I'm hoping to age both Nerissa and Amber up with the Villalobos children. The Tanakas have a hard act to follow!]]