The Beaumonts (A) - Round 9

Starring:

Armand Beaumont, Elder Family Sim, 2nd LTW Marry Off 6 Children

Adelaide Beaumont, Elder Knowledge Sim, 2nd LTW Max Out 7 Skills


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Last round at the Beaumonts, Armand finally reached his LTW, thereby joining his wife in achieving platinum status. Alexandre and Aurélie studied hard to get scholarships, then were shipped off to Sim State. Abbey reached top of her career and switched careers, continuing to earn money for the now-elder Beaumonts and entertain herself during the day. How will the Beaumont parents handle an empty nest? We'll find out.




Abbey, the only official adult in the house now, was bringing home regular promotions from work. Granted, her promotions weren't as large as Armand or Adelaide's, but the elder couple appreciated both the energy of their younger dog and the contribution in cash to the family funds.



It didn't disappoint them or surprise them any that Abbey seemed a natural at whatever she put her paw to. The promotions kept rolling in, and Adelaide and Armand couldn't have been happier.


Armand kept his job so that he could continue making money for the family (a lot of which went to college funds for Alex and Aurélie), but Adelaide, retired, worked on doing something she'd always wanted to achieve in her lifetime: becoming an expert at all the major skills. She spent loads of time sitting in a comfortable arm chair in the study, reading about mechanics or cooking, or even painting and music. Her effort paid off, and she reached this secondary lifetime goal.




Having really taken to the concept of melted cheese between toasted pieces of bread, she thought she might like to try to eat as many grilled cheese sandwiches as she could in her golden years, damn the consequences and the counter-productivity with her daily prune juice.




Armand, meanwhile, spent some time fussing around in the garden, since the interior of the house had gone through such a transformation. While he was digging one afternoon, he found a strange map to a "secret" location in the mountain resort town of Three Lakes. It sparked an idea in him, and within the week, he and Adelaide were headed out for the very first vacation of their lives, to Three Lakes.

They thoroughly enjoyed themselves visiting Three Lakes, feeling both exhausted and envigorated by the time they returned home. And there was another surprise waiting for them when they got back to Rosebud... Cooper Bigfoot! He had decided he would take Adelaide up on her offer to come back to civilization to live.



They built him a tiny "cabin" off the body of the main house, with his own private bedroom and bathroom, and they welcomed him to use the main house whenever he liked, likening his new cabin to an apartment space off of their home. They even had some trees transplanted around the new structure so he would feel at home.





They were surprised to find out that Cooper was a very kind, playful, and even educated mythical creature. He had as many skills as Adelaide and was entertaining and pleasant to have around in their everyday company. Adelaide and Armand felt they had done the right thing offering their home as a place for him to attempt assimilation into mainstream society.




He promptly got a job in the journalism career because it appealed to him more than anything else available, but his heart still yearned for a position in education. He thought that his striking differences from mainstream society would cause him a lot of trouble but would also potentially really help broaden the minds of the Rosebud youth.




Abbey, meanwhile, continued to do well in her chosen career path of the moment, bringing home bigger and bigger promotions. It seemed that you didn't need to teach an old dog new tricks...as long as that old dog still remembered how to perform the old tricks!



Cooper, too, began to bring home promotions and, having little need for money himself, always gave all of his paychecks directly to Adelaide and Armand. They told Cooper he didn't need to do that, but he insisted, in his gratitude for their offering their home to him.



Even Abbey took to Cooper well, which only served to prove to the Beaumonts that he was an alright guy, even if he did look a little different. After all, it was always said that pets could sense bad people, or good people, as the case may be.




Armand got a huge bonus that completely recuped the cost of their rather lengthy and extensive stay in Three Lakes, and he and Adelaide began to plan their next vacation.




Cooper, meanwhile, began making friends and even being set up on dates by the female friends he met. It turned out that the women of Rosebud really didn't value looks as much as they valued intelligence and kindness. It was a pleasant surprise for Cooper, to put it mildly.



Cooper didn't have very good luck with romance, but what he lacked, Armand and Adelaide made up for...in buried treasures! Since Armand found the old treasure map for the hidden lot in Three Lakes, he and Adelaide began searching all over their yard for more such similar treasures. Within a night's work of digging, they found maps to secret locations in both Takemizu Village and Twikkii Island! Their next vacation destination practically planned itself.

After such an entertaining and relaxing vacation filled with tons of beautiful scenery and interesting things to see, Adelaide and Armand headed back to Rosebud once more, with another album full of memories from their travels. Perhaps having an empty nest wasn't as bad as they once thought it might be!





Back at home, Cooper had continued to work hard in his career and scored another promotion. He also took brilliant care of Abbey while Adelaide and Armand were away. They couldn't have been more glad they'd invited Cooper home with them.




A few days later, Cooper got a reward for all his loyal hard work: a position came open in the field he most desired...education. He snapped up the job as quickly as his finger could click and waited anxiously for work the next day.




Unfortunately, some bad luck struck the house that night, and the local thief, Russ Bear, broke into their home. The Beaumonts had had an alarm installed the very first moment they moved into Rosebud, but it didn't change how terrifying it was to hear it blaring its warning in the middle of the night, awakening them from sleep.




Cooper heard the commotion from his apartment room and came running into the living room. A terrified Russ Bear was even MORE terrified by Cooper giving his best angry growl and snarl to the man who threatened his happy home and his beneficent benefactors. Russ was almost happy to be arrested that night, just to get away from that terrifying beast!




A few days later, the family noticed that Abbey was starting to show her age. She was finally joining her masters in elderhood, and they decided to reward her for being such a well-behaved and loyal pet.




Abbey got to retire from working to enjoy the quiet life at home with her loved ones, sleeping on the couch whenever she wanted.



Her retirement also meant plenty of money for dog food and treats, and lots and lots of walks with her human parents. This was the good life. Adelaide, Armand, and Cooper couldn't help but agree.



[[Author's Notes: Okay, don't ask me WHY I decided to send them on TWO VACATIONS in ONE round. The answer is because I'm insane and/or had a temporary brain fart. Waaaay too many pictures involved in just one vaca and a round, but two? Blargh. So forgive the slideshows, but the idea of blogging all that kind of made me want to scream, since all vacation experiences are basically the same in Simlandia. I'm afraid I went kind of vacation crazy on this round of playing, so pardon all the vacation-related posts. I swear I didn't just get Bon Voyage... Anyway, these two are cute, and Alex should be joining them back at home next round...maybe. I haven't decided yet, but I know that he will inherit the house, so. On to bloopers!

Bloopers:
The pixellation seems a little fruitless given that he NEVER wears any pants. // I almost wish I could have a whole neighborhood full of bigfeet. How nifty! // The wolfie comes back for revenge on Abbey. :( // Proof that there actually are extremely rare cases of vacation tours ending with a positive result! ]]