Warning: This is a longer chapter and quite picture heavy.

Starting with Week ONE and continuing in Week TWO, Week THREE and Week FOUR the house is slowly transforming into a lovely home and the couple have grown into a big, mostly happy family.

Charity thinks her tragic clownfish are the cutest things.

With this many people in the house, there is always a clogged toilet or a broken shower. Sometimes both.

Felicity earned book royalties of $622!
Anna the Ant (written when she was a child) is Normal Quality.
Betty the Beagle is a Best-Seller.
Charlie the Chipmunk is a hit.

The family enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the neighborhood park.

Charity, Felicity and Mercy talk to their parents about the difficulties of maintaining good grades, helping the family and making friends while they’re busy working PT jobs.

Everyone agrees that the family would benefit from them quitting. Hooray!

Euan hopes they are making the right decision.

Euan and Patience are working on another Commissioned Street Art opportunity when birthday magic happens.

Happy Birthday, Doughal, Cambeul and Bhradain!!!

Euan and Patience fulfill their LTW of being Surrounded by Family. Congratulations!

The third time is the charm and Mercy finally gets the hang of driving.

Mail call!
Charity receives a second gift from Dany. The Lofty Wafter (3 fans) hangs on the wall next to her bed. Her first gift, The Visitors (painting) is in the dining area.

Cambeul sculpts a statue and sells it for a tidy little profit.
The cost of the clay: $3 and the finished sculpture sells for $42.

The boys board the bus for their first day of high school.

No wonder it takes more than a half hour to get to and from school!

Charity and Mercy are asked to stay behind school and fix the boiler, so the others go home and get a head start on their homework.

Patience has “homework” too. Euan found a Swish Dishwasher in the dumpster.

The fieldtrip to the Wilsonoff Community Theatre on Tuesday is hands-down the best one! Besides seeing a great play and getting souvenirs, all of them gain experience in musical instruments. Thanks to their xylophone practice, they are now level 3 in bass, drums, guitar AND piano.
Addy’s Note: I had no idea that maxing the toddler xylophone (plus having Late Night installed) and going on this random fieldtrip would reap so many skills! The sheer volume of message pop ups … wow … 48 of them during this outing to inform me of these skill increases.

After the fieldtrip, most pair up to work on homework and then improve declining relationships. Cambeul is the only one currently on friendly terms with everybody.

Wednesday morning sees Patience losing her patience for the first time.

She goes on a collection run to get out of the house and calm down.

Losing track of time, she eventually ends up at the junkyard where the best finds can be found.

That’s not all she “finds”.

Addy’s Note: That look on her face! LOL She is either surprised that her birthday is happening in front of a smelly dumpster or that she forgot her special day. Perhaps a combination of both!

Meanwhile, back at the house …

Euan is beginning to wonder if his find is such a treasure after all.

Mail call!
Charity receives a 3rd gift from Dany and the La Ninjas del Toro poster (huge!) is added to the décor in her bedroom. Doughal receives a gift from Marlene (remember her as a little girl?). The Surreal Grilled Cheese painting is placed in the dining area and The Visitors painting from Dany is moved to the living area side of the main room.

Thursday is Leisure Day. The family decides to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend the day at the Summer Festival.

The first thing they do when they arrive is head to the photo booth for a family photo.

Doughal is not amused by the fact that Bhradain jumped in front of him but refuses to sit through another one. “With a family as large as ours, someone is bound to get in the way of somebody else and we’ll be here all day trying to get the “perfect” picture” he grumbled.

Bhradain atones for his unintentional faux pas by offering a song of apology.

Charity and Felicity think having fun while staying active is a win-win situation.

Or perhaps something else is the winner as far as they are concerned.

Happy Birthday, Charity!

Happy Birthday, Felicity!

Happy Birthday, Mercy!

The boys are given driving lessons.

Doughal and Cambeul quickly figure things out and earn their license, but Bhradain obviously needs another lesson.

Ooh … look at the pretty lights!

Cambeul doesn’t like what he sees but can’t escape from the tractor beam.
GULP!

The burst of energy emitted during takeoff causes the plants to sway and the window panes to rattle, but the rest of the McPhail family take no notice as they slumber on.

A tired Cambeul returns home and voices his displeasure over the “charming introduction” Ghoel Ayohod gave.

Hours later, the family heads to City Hall to attend the graduation ceremony. They’re soaked by the time they trek from parking to the front doors and can only shake their heads in wonder at the idiot of an architect who thought designing a building with these many steps was a good idea.

All three girls graduate with the highest honor and receive awards in addition to their diplomas. Charity is voted “Most Artistic”, Felicity “Most Likely to Hack the Military Facility” and Mercy “Most Likely to have a Big Family” by their classmates.

The girls pose for a picture in the caps and gowns, laughing out loud when they see the end results and realize it will be difficult for others to tell them apart.

Congratulations to all three of you!!!

The next morning, the young ladies bring their parents into the living room to share some important news with them.

“We have given it some thought and …” Charity began but was interrupted by Mercy. “We want to spread our artistic wings in a space of our own!” Felicity chimed in with a “With the three of us living together, we should be able to rent a decent-sized house.”

To say Patience is stunned by the news would be a bit of an understatement and Euan looks over, trying to decide whether he should offer comfort … encouragement … or simply keep silent while she sorts things out in her mind.

Within minutes a smile appears on her face as she hugs each girl and Euan does the same. “Our home won’t be the same without you but it’s time for you to grow and flourish at your own pace and in your own space!”

Within a few hours the girls finish packing and are on their way. New adventures and dreams to fulfill beckon like a bright beacon.

Progress Report: The most noticeable changes occurred in the bedrooms as décor items are purchased and mementos displayed. A workshop is built in the backyard and space is set aside for a future bathroom. Euan is pleased with the additional garden space he created and looks forward to the plants maturing from the special seeds he found.
Addy’s Note: The pictures of the girls’ bedrooms were taken before they moved out.

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Goodness! Birthdays, graduation and moving out made for a busy week. There might be less sims in the house, but Week SIX is sure to be packed with activity as this challenge winds down.