Friday, July 4, 2008

The Sinclair Family Season 8

S7 Sinclair 23.jpg

Gary Sinclair—Adult male fortune sim
Scorpio personality
Neat 6, Outgoing 5, Active 8, Serious 3, Grumpy 3
Lifetime want—earn 100,000 simoleons—Achieved!
Preferred hobbies—Sports, Nature

Regina Sinclair—Adult female fortune sim
Scorpio personality
Neat 6, Outgoing 5, Active 8, Serious 3, and Grumpy 3
Lifetime want—reach top of business career
Preferred hobby—Sports

Ethan Sinclair—Male child sim
Gemini Personality
Sloppy 2, Outgoing 10, Active 10, Serious 3, Grumpy 3
Preferred hobbies—Sports, Fitness

Eli Sinclair—Male toddler sim
Sagittarius personality
Neat 6, Outgoing 5, Active 8, Playful 9, Nice 3
Preferred hobbies—Sports, Games

Check out the Sinclair Family Tree.

In the last updateRegina gave birth to her second son, Eli. Both being very driven people, Gary and Regina progressed in their new careers and improved the standing of their business. Gary got his business to level 10 and reached the top of the law career. Regina was promoted to CEO, near the top of her second career. Ethan had his fifth birthday. As a child, it was very obvious to anyone that Ethan took after his parents. He was athletic and studious. Gary brought home a police dog, Duke, as a present for Ethan. Eli became a toddler. No one knows yet if the active yet playful Eli will be able to please the oh-so-demanding Gary or if his half-brother Evan might have to intervene.

Season 8—Summer

Gary and Regina were constantly busy between work, their business, children, and their robot crafting hobby. So, it was quite a surprise to Gary when his wife came outside and kissed him passionately.

“Woah,” Gary responded as he tried to catch his breath. “Aren’t you supposed to be taking Ethan to basketball practice?” he asked. He appreciated the kiss, but they really didn’t have time for making out or woohoo anymore.

“Evan dropped him off for me after he picked up Eli. He’s trying to bond with his half-brothers, I think,” Regina explained.

“So, if Ethan’s already at basketball practice and Evan has Eli, then that means that we have the house to ourselves for a while,” Gary realized.

“At least 30 minutes before Ethan’s back from practice,” Regina explained with a wink.

They raced upstairs to take proper advantage of their time.


They didn’t have long before Evan brought the boys home, but it was long enough for some fun. In a blink it was already time to tuck the boys in for bed. Gary found Eli cuddling on Duke. Eli loved that dog more than anything, even though it was really Ethan’s dog. Luckily, the German Shepard turned out to be just as gentle and good with children as Gary predicted he would be.

“Time for bed, little man,” Gary said as he picked him up and carried him to his crib.

All of Regina’s hard work paid off when she was finally promoted to Business Tycoon. She was the best businesswoman out there, and everyone knew it. She had respect and money now. It was all that she had ever wanted. Now, it was a limo picking her up and taking her to important business meetings.



Gary had been at the top of his career for quite some time. It was his sixty-fifth birthday and time to throw himself a retirement party. He’d been a great cop and an even better lawyer, but he was getting old. It was time to stop pushing himself so hard and enjoy a bit of life. All of Gary’s family joined him for his retirement party, but they also insisted that he blow-out the candles on a birthday cake.

Gary couldn’t get over how old he was suddenly looking and even feeling.

The party truly got underway as the basketball game broke out.

Cameron gave Gary a bit of a hard time about being so old. “Careful there, little brother. You aren’t that much younger than me. This is going to be you soon,” Gary reminded him.

Although he joked, Gary was still feeling a little sensitive about his age. He felt so old compared to everyone else. Even his bones ached more now. He was quite happy about being retired, though. He had a nice pension coming in, and he could focus more time on his business.

What Gary didn’t know was that Regina was about to get a surprise.


“No!” she screamed as realized what was going on. “No, no, no, no, no!” She was not pregnant. Not after her husband had just retired and she’d finally achieved her lifetime want of becoming a Business Tycoon. They were too old now to be having children, and Regina just did not have time for it. She wanted to be spending her time at the office, not on maternity leave. But, there was nothing she could do about it besides scream. She was definitely pregnant.

Regina was extremely depressed. She did not want to be stuck around the house caring for babies, cleaning up messes, and bathing the dog. The other executives she worked with insisted that she take maternity leave, though, so she was doing the best that she could with it. At least she could still coach Ethan at basketball. She hadn’t let being pregnant get in the way of her athletic pursuits before, and she wasn’t changing that for this pregnancy.



At least Gary was stuck at home now, too, since he was retired. He was a great help with Eli. The toddler got a lot more daddy time than either Evan or Ethan had received.


Gary also liked spending time in his garden. It was quite large and a lot of work, but he enjoyed the hobby. Before long, Gary had a gold talent badge in gardening to add to the gold badges he already had in sales, register, and restocking.


The Sinclairs decided to have a family cookout for Eli’s fifth birthday party. Everyone enjoyed celebrating what a cute child Eli had become.


Everything was going well until Gary and Regina explained that Ethan and Eli would have to share a bedroom because the coming baby would need the nursery. Eli was excited about it, but Ethan was NOT happy about having to share his bedroom.

“Go to sleep!” Ethan barked at his brother that night. “We have to get our rest for school tomorrow,” he chastised.

“But this is so much fun!” Eli exclaimed as he bounced on his bed.

Ethan sighed. Sharing a room was not going to go well.


That weekend Gary and Regina took the boys to the park to play some toss football. Gary spent some time giving Ethan some pointers. His son was going to be the star quarterback someday.


Eli was a little jealous of his brother. He wanted his dad’s attention. He wanted to learn the star football tips. He knew he wasn’t quite as athletically talented as Ethan, but he could learn to be a good sports player, too. Regina offered to play with him, which was better than not getting to play at all.

That night, the boys raced down the stairs when they heard their mother’s pained cries. “What’s wrong, Mommy?” Eli asked.

“It’s okay. I’m just having the baby,” Regina calmly explained.

Regina gave birth to yet another boy, Jack Sinclair. Jack was Regina’s third son and Gary’s fourth. Like Ethan and Eli, Jack looked just like his father with black hair and the dark blue Sinclair family eyes.

Jack Sinclair—male baby sim

The family paused for a quick family portrait after the baby was born. Regina couldn’t hide how tired and depressed she felt. She just wanted to be back to work. And she was worried about raising another baby considering how old Gary now was.

Finally she managed to force a smile for a better family picture.



The Sinclair and Cory families were invited over for yet another birthday party. This time it was Ethan’s thirteenth. The first thing that Evan did was check on his youngest baby brother. Evan wasn’t surprised to find Jack hungry with a dirty diaper. His father had never been one to notice a baby’s cries, and apparently Regina didn’t either.

“Evan, I’m glad you’re here,” Gary said when he spotted Evan. “I’ve wanted to talk to you about something. I’m worried about Ethan. He’s exhausted all of the time. Sometimes I find him just napping on the couch, and he’s having problems concentrating on his homework. I have to scold him several times to get him to complete it.”

Evan forced himself not to snort with laughter. Was his father really that blind? Evan knew that he was. “Dad, what does Ethan do when he gets home?”

“Basketball practice,” Gary replied.

“And after that?” Evan asked.

“I have some one on one training time with him, and then he starts his homework,” Gary said.

“He’s tired, Dad. You’re pushing him too hard. You always expect too much,” Evan explained. Just a few years ago Evan wouldn’t have been able to admit that, but now that he was an adult with a wonderful wife and children of his own, Evan was comfortable stating the truth. It was a known fact. Gary expected perfection, and children simply could not deliver on that.

“I don’t understand,” Gary said honestly. “He has to go to school and do his schoolwork. The only part that’s addition is his basketball and football practice, and Ethan loves those. He’s a very athletic boy.”

“I’m sure he does love them, but sports practice is draining. You can’t expect him to concentrate on homework after that. Let him have some down time. Let him watch some ESPN and lounge on the couch. He needs some time to rest.”

Gary promised to try to keep that in mind after Ethan became a teen. There wasn’t any more time to talk. It was time for Ethan to blow out the candles on his cake.

“Have you given any thought to what you want to do with the rest of your life, son?” Gary asked. He secretly hoped that Ethan would say that he wanted to be an athletic star, but he realized that he couldn’t influence Ethan any more. The decision was his.

“I’d like to have a ton of children someday, Dad. I’m thinking enough to have my own baseball team,” Ethan said with a smile.

“A baseball team!” Gary exclaimed.

“Well, maybe half a dozen kids. At least enough so that someday I can coach my kids against Eli’s in the family Thanksgiving football match.”

Ethan Sinclair—Male teen family sim
Gemini Personality
Sloppy 2, Outgoing 10, Active 10, Serious 3, Grumpy 3
Lifetime want—Marry off six children
Preferred hobbies—Sports, Fitness

Gary approved of that lifetime goal. It wasn’t a career or money want, but it also didn’t interfere with his own goals for his son. He wanted Ethan to be Emerald Isle Academy’s star athlete. He would be the captain of the basketball, football, and baseball teams. Ethan didn’t seem to mind as his dad gave him some pointers on his basketball shots and encouraged him to do some reps to improve his muscle tone. Gary did remind himself of Evan’s words. He’d have to try to allow for time for Ethan to rest, but not right then.


Season Recap

1. This season was full of birthdays. Eli became a child. Gary became an elder and retired. Ethan became a teenager and chose the family aspiration with the lifetime want of marrying of six children.

2. Regina reached the top of the business career track and achieved her lifetime want.

3. Regina gave birth to another boy, Jack.


Points Recap

Previous non-money points 155

Top of Career, Regina +1

New sim, Jack +1

4 Gold badges, Gary +2

New non-money points 159

New money total for this household to be added for neighborhood points 270,134 simoleons.

Author’s Notes

So much for population control. I really wanted a Jack and the Sinclairs were the right family for genetics, so I let Regina and Gary have one more. And then Ethan rolls up wanting to marry off six children. I see a population explosion coming. That’s not good.

Gary is my first adult sim that I have ever let become an elder in my game. Yep, in my entire eight or so years of simming, Gary is the first one I’ve let become an elder. I miss young Gary already, but I have to let my prosperity sims move on.

I was actually the one pushing Ethan to constant exhaustion. I love the basketball hoop. Since Ethan is so active, I thought it would be a good idea to have him use the basketball hoop to replenish his fun after school. I wanted him to get the sports hobby plaque and it builds body. Well, the basketball hoop is not a good idea. It drains children as much as working out drains teens and adults. Although it does increase fun, it drains energy and hygiene really fast. The poor kid was constantly falling asleep. Looks like it might be a while before I get my first hobby plaque in my prosperity.

4 comments:

  1. Ethan is adorable! And wow- Gary is the first sim you've ever let become an elder? Good job playing outside your comfort zone. :)

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  2. Gary's character is so true to form--love how clearly you paint your sims' characters.

    I like doing the basketball hoop right before bed--sometimes I'll even get the sims up in the middle of the night, let them get in some practice, which exhausts them enough that they can go back to bed and sleep again. Just don't ever do it in the morning when they have commitments!

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  3. All the kids are so cute! And that's true, Gary is true to form. I actually liked that twist to Regina, freaking out about her third pregnancy. She looks like the type. I'm glad Evan feels like he can tell Gary the truth about his parenting now.

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  4. Wow, that's crazy you'd never let a sim age to elder before! Although my CAS adult sims from my prosperity are about to become elders and it is very hard for me not to keep have them chugging the elixir. So I do understand.

    ReplyDelete