Round 7 Part 15: The Safe House (2053 - 2057)

Gretchen is 30, Jaden is 29

Cinderella
narrated by Gretchen Kules

Jaden and I couldn't afford to go on a honeymoon after the wedding. Fortunately sometimes doing the practical thing pays off--I honestly think I enjoyed our first few months as a married couple more because we did have that leisure to just sit around and spend time together, rather than running around from one tourist trap to the next trying to get our money's worth.

We had hoped to get jobs at museums or the like, but no one was hiring at that time, so in the fall we both started working as adjunct history professors back at our old university.

Working together was great, but we found that we also needed to spend some time apart in order to really enjoy the time we had together. Jaden took up soccer and would sometimes practice in our backyard late into the night.

Meanwhile, I stayed inside and studied up on robotics--I've always enjoyed tinkering with things and the robotics field has made some amazing advancements in recent years.

We did spend some time together in the evenings, of course, as evidenced by the fact that we welcomed a daughter, Kristen Alessa, in the summer of 2057. So far she's the spitting image of her father. Since I was adopted myself, I certainly don't mind having relatives who don't look like me, but I was still curious to see if my genetics would be represented at all. Perhaps when she gets older--or perhaps when we have more children down the line.

Jaden was absolutely thrilled to become a father.

He didn't meet his own father until he was three or four years old, and Ryan still talks regretfully of missing those early days, so I think it makes Jaden all the more determined to invest as much time as possible into his relationship with Kristen. I sometimes feel that I hardly get a chance to hold her!

I certainly don't mind this dedication when it comes time for the middle of the night diaper changes, though!

Notes:

For context, the story of how Jaden was conceived and how he met his father. 

Other than that, this update was a pretty standard college grad new household. Get married, get a job, have a baby, see you next round. (Which, at the rate I'm going, will be in three or four real-life years! :o )

Round 7 mini-update: The Riedmayer-Kules wedding (2053)

Narrated by Gretchen Kules

Jaden and I got married in December of the year we graduated from college. I spent a few months bunking with Agatha at my parents' house, and Jaden stayed at his parents' and oversaw the construction of our new place.

We had a good-sized crowd at the wedding, between my family, Jaden's family, and our friends. The crowd included my niece and nephew, who were both right around three years old at the time. Jaden's niece Priscilla was 11, and she was perfectly happy to play with the little kids and keep them from running off instead of sitting still and watching the ceremony.

I could tell Jaden was really moved by the ceremony. His parents have never married and have a weird sort of relationship, so doing marriage "right" was very important to him.

I think I might have gotten a little choked up myself when he slid the ring onto my finger.

And then we were officially Mr. and Mrs. Kules.

After the ceremony we posed for some group shots while the rest of our guests rearranged the yard.

We didn't have a full meal; just cake and little snacks. Jaden was very polite about feeding me the cake, which is good because this dress cost more than anything else I own and I wouldn't want it to get stained.

Jaden's brother, Darius, was the best man and he made a toast that was very touching--he's a lot older than Jaden, so he remembers what Jaden was like when he was small.

My sister Annie was matron of honor and she made a toast too...with sparkling cider, since she was 6 months pregnant at the time.

Then we had a bit of dancing before everybody went home to eat their dinner.

More posed pics:

Here's Gretchen's family, just like the picture above but with the addition of Jackie's boyfriend, Ryker.

From left: Jill Smith, Agatha Riedmayer holding Andrew Riedmayer, Ryker Owens, Jacqueline Riedmayer, Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Annie Dejackome, Gavin Dejackome holding Rivka Dejackome, Johnson Simpson.

Here's Jaden's family.

From left: Alexis Kules, Ryan Cho, Brittanie Kules, Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Darius Kules, Elise Kules, Silas Kules, and Priscilla Kules.







The wedding party.

From left: Silas Kules (groomsman, nephew of the groom), Douglas Long (groomsman, friend of the couple), Darius Kules (best man, brother of the groom), Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Annie Dejackome (matron of honor, sister of the bride), Agatha Riedmayer (bridesmaid, "sister"/cousin of the bride), and Jacqueline Riedmayer ("sister"/cousin of the bride).

And the ZZE class of 2052/3: Ingrid Riedmayer, Sarah Long, Douglas Long, Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Jacqueline Riedmayer, Marion Landgraab, Margaret Landgraab.

Notes:

1. I am pretty pleased with how the pictures turned out, except I wish I had remembered to adjust my Sims' heights. Let's pretend the short people are wearing thick shoes/high heels. 

2. Custom content! Gretchen's hair is Rite of Passage by Almighty Hat and Sarah's hair is Hero's Sister, also by Almighty Hat. 

Gretchen's dress is from the "Romantic English Regency" set by iamliz13 at Mod the Sims. The bridesmaids are wearing a recolor of the same dress from the "Regency Maxis-Match Gowns" set by oepu at Mod the Sims. You can't really tell except maybe in the toasting picture, but the dresses have a pregnancy morph, which is pretty much why I downloaded them, so Annie had some decent matron of honor wear. 

Sim State University Class of 2052 and 2053

Class of 2052:

Douglas Long

Douglas Long
Major: Literature
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Douglas Long is the son of Ian and Amara Long, who reside in Indonesia and are employed as missionaries. Douglas plans to establish a home in Prosperity Plains and pursue a career in the entertainment field. He is engaged to Sarah Pons, a fellow SSU student who plans to graduate in 2053.

Class of 2053: 

Jaden Kules

Jaden Kules
Major: Literature
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Jaden Kules with parents Brittanie Kules and Ryan Cho.

Jaden Kules is the son of Prosperity Plains residents Ryan Cho, a marine biologist, and Brittanie Kules, a party consultant. He plans to return to Prosperity Plains with his fiancee, fellow SSU grad Gretchen Riedmayer, and apply for a job with the Sim State Historical Society.

Jaden Kules with fiancee Gretchen Riedmayer.

Margaret Landgraab

Margaret Landgraab

Major: Philosophy
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Margaret Landgraab (second from left) and Marion Landgraab
with parents Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab and Malcolm Landgraab IV.

Margaret Landgraab is the daughter of local businessman Malcolm Langraab IV and retired general Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab. She plans to set up a household with friends in Prosperity Plains and possibly pursue a career in journalism.

Marion Landgraab

Major: Economics
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Marion Landgraab is the daughter of local businessman Malcolm Langraab IV and retired general Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab. She aspires to pursue a business career and will be living with friends in Prosperity Plains.

Sarah Pons

Sarah Pons

Major: Psychology
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Sarah Pons with parents Joan and Greg Pons.

Sarah Pons is the daughter of Greg Pons, a senior military officer, and Joan Pons, a renowned artist and journalist. She plans to reside in Prosperity Plains with her fiancee, Douglas Long (SSU Class of 2042), and pursue a career in law.

Sarah Pons with fiance Douglas Long (Class of '52).

Gretchen Riedmayer

Gretchen Riedmayer

Major: Literature
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Gretchen Riemdayer (second from right) with aunt Jill Smith,
cousin Jacqueline Riedmayer, and father Johnson Simpson.

Gretchen Riedmayer is the daughter of Johnson Simpson and the late Quinton Riedmayer. She hopes to pursue a career with the Sim State Historical Society and will be residing in Prosperity Plains with her fiance, classmate Jaden Kules.

Ingrid Riedmayer

Ingrid Riedmayer

Major: Biology
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Ingrid Riedmayer with mother Edith Riedmayer
and stepfather Thomas Dai.

Ingrid Riedmayer is the daughter of Edith Riedmayer, a retired member of the SCIA. Ingrid will be living with friends in Prosperity Plains while she pursues a career in medicine.

Jacqueline Riedmayer

Jacqueline Riedmayer

Major: Political Science

GPA: 4.0

Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Jacqueline Riedmayer with friend Ryker Owens (Class of '46).

Jacqueline Riedmayer is the daughter of Jill Smith, a member of the SCPD, and the late Elwood Riedmayer. She aspires to a law career and will be living with a friend in Prosperity Plains.









Notes:

1. I loved doing these graduation portraits because I got to compare my Sims to their parents. (Except, you know, the ones who were adopted or are estranged from their parents or whatever.) I was surprised by how much Jaden looks like his mother--he has Ryan's nose, but otherwise he's all Brittanie. I was also surprised how much Ingrid doesn't look like her mother...she has Edith's eyes, nose, and mouth, but Corbin's overall face shape, and it makes a big difference. 

2. Custom content: The base game OSMPs from here. I used normal Maxis poses, because I'm lazy, and used boolprop to make visitors controllable and force the students into their graduation gowns at non-automatic times. 

Week Six Part Fourteen: Pinenut Plaza Dormitory and Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House

Marion Landgraab: 25 years old. Aspiration: Pleasure. LTW: 50 1st Dates. Astrological sign: Gemini.

Jacqueline Riedmayer: 23 years old. Aspiration: Fortune. LTW: Become the Law. Astrological sign: Aquarius.

Gretchen Riedmayer: 23 years old. Aspiration: Fortune. LTW: Become Space Pirate. Astrological sign: Aries.

Jaden Kules: 22 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Become Space Pirate. Astrological sign: Scorpio.

Margaret Landgraab: 19 years old. Aspiration: Popularity. LTW: Have 20 Simultaneous Best Friends. Astrological sign: Gemini.

Sarah Pons: 17 years old. Aspiration: Fortune. LTW: Become the Law. Astrological sign: Aries.

Ingrid Riedmayer: 17 years old. Aspiration: Fortune. LTW: Become Chief of Staff. Astrological sign: Gemini.
Family trees:
Jaden
Jackie and Gretchen
Marion and Maggie 
Sarah and Ingrid

"Magical"
narrated by Sarah Pons

The year I went to college, there were seven of us...six girls and one guy. We were supposed to live in Sim State Dormitory, but we ended up getting moved after the first week because they needed to fumigate it...bugs or something.

Anyway, while they were getting our new rooms at Pinenut Plaza Dorm ready for us, we killed the time shopping for clothes. I mean, what else are six girls going to do with a few spare hours? I think Jaden looked at cell phones the whole time we were there.

Even though Jaden really didn't get our collective obsession with fashion, the seven of us were soon really close. I knew almost everybody before, 'cause I'm related to almost everybody, but seeing them around town wasn't the same as living with them.

Of course, it wasn't all socialization. We all kept our noses to the grindstone pretty well, in fact, and maintained 4.0 averages.

After our freshman year, we moved over to the Greek House with Douglas Long, who had been there the year before the rest of us. While we were moving in, this random cheerleader girl kept trying to strike up a conversation with me. Douglas says she hangs around all the time but has never actually tried to pledge or anything.

Jaden and Douglas bunked together in the mens' dormitory; I think Jaden was happy to have somebody who wasn't always talking about shoes and makeup. The women's dormitory wasn't big enough for all of us girls, so we switched around between that and the two double rooms.

Not long after we moved in, Jaden and Gretchen started going out together. They worked together in high school, so they've known each other forever, and they have a lot of common interests. I was super happy for them. (In addition to them both being my friends, Gretchen is my first cousin twice removed. I know that doesn't seem very close, but family loyalty runs deep in the Riedmayers.)

Speaking of family...I always felt bad for my cousin Ingrid. She had kind of a rough childhood and was very moody and withdrawn for a long time. She really blossomed in the Greek house, though. Sometimes I even caught her doing lighthearted things like juggling.

She also gave us all makeovers regularly. I think even Jaden let her cut his hair a few times.

Ingrid wasn't so happy when the secret society came to abduct her. I guess she hadn't been paying attention to the rest of us getting snatched one by one, because she thought she was genuinely getting abducted and almost broke this guy's nose hitting him with the back door. We managed to calm her down and she still got into the Landgraab Society.

Jaden and Gretchen were still going strong...

And I had started a little something with Douglas.

The only crisis we had was the one time Marion set herself on fire. We're not sure what happened...maybe some grease got on her clothes? Anyway, most of us were studying upstairs when it happened. Maggie ran down first to help.

Douglas ran down to help too. We didn't all want to get in the way, but he could tell that Maggie was panicking. Fortunately, the fireman also arrived quickly and Marion manged to survive with nothing but minor burns...a small miracle, considering.

I don't know if maybe that put Jaden in mind of his own mortality, but at any rate later on that year he took Gretchen down to the Crypt O' Night Club. It's not the most romantic place, if you ask me, but Gretchen told me about it later and said that while they were having drinks at the bar Jaden told her that his parents had met each other at that very bar, about thirty years previously. She thought that the evening was magical even with the creepy atmosphere.

After they had a few drinks, a table opened up and they had dinner. After they ate, Jaden proposed. Gretchen was expecting it (I mean, they'd known each other about ten years and been dating for five...) but she said it was still an amazing and emotional experience, hearing him declare his devotion to her.

Jaden got the DJ to put on some slow songs for them, and they danced the night away before coming home to the Greek house.

Around the same time, Ryker--he graduated from ZZE a few years before we started--came to visit, and when Jackie went out to greet him he bent down and kissed her hand.

From then on, the two of them spent pretty much all our parties making out.

Again, I hasten to reassure you all that we didn't spend all our time making out and going on dates. A lot of our "dates" involved heading up to the computer lab in the attic and seeing who could finish their term paper the fastest. Maggie usually won the race, but then she had to spend a lot of hours editing, whereas Jaden and Douglas could crank out perfectly polished essays in the first try. (Not 'cause they're guys. Just 'cause they're super nerdy and the rest of us aren't so much.)

Douglas graduated while the rest of us still had one year to go. I was really proud of him--he got a 4.0 and all sorts of honors--but also really sad to see him go.

Maybe I shoudn't have been, but I was actually surprised when he called me over and got down on one knee...right there in his graduation gown, with the photographer snapping pictures all the while. Good thing I was dressed up from having just attended the graduation ceremony. I said yes, of course. It was wonderful to know that our separation would be brief...Douglas told me after he proposed that he had gotten some land just down the street from my parents. He'd supervise the building of our house, and then we could get married as soon after my graduation as I wanted.

After Douglas left, we had an open space in the house (it's against the law to have more than 8 people in a rental) so we asked a girl named Anna Jeffress to pledge. She and I had been friends for a while, and became even better friends afterwards.

I know Jaden was sad to have the only Y chromosome in the house after Douglas left, but at least Anna was a good study buddy for him. She's at least as nerdy as Douglas. Jaden and Anna kept the rest of us on task during that last year...maybe it was just because my mind was on my wedding, but it seemed like the last months until graduation just dragged by.

We all finally made it, though!










Notes:

1. As you might be able to tell from the loading screen pic, I was having trouble getting Marion to age up properly. She looked like a teen and could only wear teen clothes, but she had all the YA interactions available. (She could flirt with the other YAs, etc.) I tried moving them and all sorts of other things. What finally worked was aging her back down to teen in SimPE and then reloading the lot...she aged up to YA properly as soon as the lot loaded. Hopefully I won't have any more trouble there.

2. I don't hold with gender-based stereotypes, but I must admit I found this group's conversations hilarious. The girls all have high interest in fashion and would seriously talk about it ALL THE TIME and Jaden would always have negative interactions, because he has low interest in fashion. (He managed to become best friends with everybody nonetheless.) I can't remember if Douglas has any interest in fashion or not.

3. I have been planning on marrying off Ryker and Jackie for a long time, but at one point this play session I decided to see if he was more attracted to any of the other girls and maybe switch things up if he was. He must have got wind of my plot, because he kissed Jackie as soon as she greeted him. (This caused her to fall in love and him to fall in crush, so I had them make out a little bit and then he fell in love too.) They only have one bolt, but I guess bolts aren't everything. :)

4. Anna is a Knowledge Sim with the refreshing want to Max All Skills. Her astrological sign is Sagittarius.

5. Everybody got 4.0, Big Sim on Campus, and Secret Society. I'm like a machine. 

6. I'm working on a graduation post, so you can see everybody else in their caps and gowns.