The Beaumonts (C) - Round 10

Starring:

Meadow Beaumont, Adult Family Sim, LTW Raise 20 Puppies or Kittens

Alain Beaumont, Adult Family Sim, LTW Reach Golden Anniversary

Marc Beaumont, Child Popularity Sim, LTW Grow Up Well


~*~*~*~*~

Last round at the Beaumont house, Meadow managed to earn a gold fishing talent badge while her hubby, Alain, managed to earn two: in Arts and Crafts and in Toymaking. Alain continued his lifetime career switching, earning TOC in the music business before hunting for his the next field to try. Marc made friends his age in the neighborhood, and Cleo gave birth to two puppies: Sara and Max. Will Meadow come closer to her LTW this round, and how cute will Marc be when he turns into a teenager? We'll find out.

Alain's next career, he decided, would be based more on conservation and science than on show business. He got a job high in the Oceanography career track and was stunned by some of the things he saw while out on the high seas. When he spotted a talking fish, he knew he had to give up fishing forever; besides, there was always another career waiting on the horizon for him to try.



He was immediately promoted to Protector of Whales for his decision, and he delighted in the fact that making such a decision could actually lead to good things instead of being immediately fired.





That night, he came home with a new job title and a fat bonus.





Meadow, while her hubby was busy saving animals at work, was busy saving animals at home. She decided to adopt a brand new puppy whom she dubbed "Apollo." The pound said he was bound to be a big, handsome dog, but it didn't really matter to her. She was happy to have the new addition to the family.


She greeted Apollo on the sidewalk in the first few flakes of winter. She hoped he would grow to be a perfect mate for Sara.



With the mass-production of puppies going on at the Beaumont residence, Meadow decided she needed to hire some contractors to create a better system for housing her collection of pups. Next to the original dog house, she had a fenced in yard created with multiple dog houses for the puppies. That way, they didn't have to go up and down stairs to piddle, and locking the fence kept them safely in and other dogs safely out. Once the pups aged into breeding-aged dogs, they would move into the attached pet house.



As for Cleo and Darcy, they were getting older and beyond their breeding years. Meadow simply didn't have the heart to give them up for adoption at their age...no one would take them, and besides, she loved them. So she had one final little house built in the back yard, what she called "The Retirement Home." It had lush padded walls, soft carpet, exceptionally comfortable and beautiful beds, and all the toys the pups could want. It also had its own fenced-in yard where they could play and potty without being disturbed by neighborhood dogs roaming. This new arrangement seemed to suit humans and dogs alike. It was a success.



Shortly into the season, all three pups grew into beautiful adult dogs. Sara and Max obviously shared genes, and Apollo turned into a gorgeous, sleek rottweiler.



Sadly, Sara knew that she had to give Max up for adoption. She hated to separate him from his litter-mate, but Sara had some breeding to do at the Beaumont homestead, and Meadow knew that Max would find a good life.



There wasn't too much time to feel sad about Max's departure, fortunately. It was time for another "pup" in the household to grow up: Meadow and Alain's own little Marc.



He seemed a bit shocked at his sudden transition into a new and improved teenage body, but he was completely thrilled to finally be of an age where maybe he could go out and do social things without his parents having to drop him off. He couldn't wait to go roaming the town and hanging out with friends.



In fact, he could think of nothing that would make him happier than to be the most popular boy in the neighborhood. Marc felt best when surrounded by people who were his friends. And if he happened to find a stinky, hat-wearing girl who was completely illogical to fall in love with...well, so much the better.





The newly adult dogs didn't get much of a reprieve from Meadow's gentle cajoling, and soon enough, they were sharing a dog house built for two in the hopes of starting the next generation of pups for the Beaumont household.



Frankly, Cleo and Darcy were happy to be off the hook now, and they spent most of the winter slumbering comfortably in the warm retirement home, utterly content.



Marc decided that he needed to get some cool clothes if he was to start making friends, and he found a look that was neither too preppy nor too grungy for his tastes. Even his parents had to admit that he would be a heartbreaker.



He got to thinking and finally had a talk with his parents about school. All of the coolest kids in Rosebud went to the local private academy, he argued, and he really wanted to be where all of his friends were. Besides, if he could make connections with the future leaders of Rosebud, wouldn't that benefit him all through his life? Meadow and Alain laughed softly at his cajoling, but they couldn't argue his points. The local Headmaster was invited over for dinner.




Of course, between the unique farm compound they had and Meadow's amazing cooking skills of her freshly-caught fish, Marc was a shoe-in, and he joined the ranks of the rest of Rosebud's best and brightest.



The achievement was such that Meadow felt glad all over for her son's achievements. She also realized that she had tended to stick pretty much to the house all the time, getting lost in playing with the dogs and not ever really getting out or having friends of the human persuasion over, even when Alain and Marc were both gone during the day. She decided she really needed to remedy that situation.




She was even more delighted when Marc decided he wanted to be a person of importance in Rosebud. Sure, he simply loved having lots of friends, but he wanted to make sure those friends and the town stayed safe. Her eyes watered with pride when he told Meadow that he thought he might like to dedicate himself to the study of justice and the law.



Alain, also seemingly inspired by his son's successes, began working on his skills, especially his physical skills. Being a protector of whales was surprisingly harder than he thought it would be. He'd always considered himself fairly in shape, but if he really wanted to ensure a promotion and, more importantly, his safety, he had to bulk up, and after many sessions of yoga, he finally felt he was up to strength.



The winter season drew to a close on one more happy note: Sara and Apollo had, in fact, succeeded in conceiving, and two new puppies were born to the Beaumont farm.


Meadow named them Winnie and Sam, and her enthusiasm for the adorable, tiny things was no less decreased than the first time she'd ever adopted one.


The whole family had to admit that the pups were adorable frolicking around the yard and yipping and chasing their mother's tail.



[[Author's Notes: I loooove the new setup for pets in this household. Meadow and Alain have a pretty large plot of land, and it's really nice to be able to have puppies, adult dogs, and senior dogs in three separate places. It also alleviates my guilt about giving up elder dogs to adoption simply because they can't breed anymore. Not here...they get the plushest of the plush, and I'm betting that by the time Apollo and Sara are elders, Darcy and Cleo will already be gone. Perfect. I might actually achieve this LTW with Meadow. Keep your fingers crossed.

Bloopers:
Mmm, hey, you're kinda cute. What do you think of me? // Denied. I don't like your face. // Sam might have a future in dog sledding. // Me getting excited over being able to finally see fish in the ponds. // Me getting excited that the rainbow trout actually is rainbowed. // Me getting excited that the steak looks like steak and veggies and not a brown blur! I'm apparently easily excited.]]