The Beginning - Life With the Wilsons

In the past, a lot of my entries on this blog have been pretty wordy. I can't help it - it's just the writer in me. However, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that's one of the things that I enjoy the most about looking at Sims pages, is all the fun pictures that are usually there. So anyway, my apologies for the drier entries, but I didn't have very much photo evidence for my earlier posts. I'll probably have just the opposite problem from here on out.

We're done with the Millers for now...as least as far as viewing their day to day life from within their house (unless something really big happens down the road). It's time to move on to a slightly more interesting family, the Wilsons. I already covered the family members and showed a shot of their house a few posts back, so if you're curious, go check it out. Otherwise, we'll get right down to the good stuff.

The Wilsons enjoy a rare moment of togetherness at the dining room table. You can see that cleanliness isn't one of the family's strong points.

Like I said, initially, the Wilson family was developed to create more available friends for the sims I was originally giving all my attention to, the McGregor family. I'd basically send Mark McGregor off to work, and have his wife, Nikole, either call up Wilson family members, or go visit their house (though she almost always refused any invites I'd make to her...what a witch!).

Kevin, chatting with Nikole (white shirt) and another neighbor, probably just there for the food. Notice his oh, so cool "Got Milk?" shirt.

Yes, socialization was definitely the thing around the Wilson house when it was first created. It had to be, since it was made before I had any expansions, and there was little else to do (unless you wanted to do housework or hold a real job, and what fun is that?). You might say that since none of the Wilsons had an actual career, that socializing with others was their career.

Clockwise from bottom middle: Kammy, Mark McGregor, Kevin, Kitty, Matt, and...who's that Bozo?

Normal definitely doesn't describe business as usual with the Wilsons. No, sir, not like those boring Millers. Here's a fine example. One night, Marty wandered outside for reasons only he can be completely sure of. Casually wandering by the house was a miniature skeleton, who'd apparantly rung the doorbell, and was waiting to be greeted.

Either that's a kid in a costume, or that guy lied about the house not being built on an ancient burial ground.

Upon further inspection, Marty discovered other midget-sized strangely dressed people on the property. A more in-depth investigation revealed that someone had put out a bowl of Halloween candy on a whim, that was attracting the little freaks in large numbers.

Either more trick-or-treaters, or the midget police squad is here for a bust.

Part of the excitement around the Wilson house was the frequent daily fires started almost every time that someone besides J.D. tried to do any cooking. Given that there were six original members of the family, that's a lot of fires every day. The fireman might as well have moved in and saved himself a trip every time.

Well, rather than risk having the house burn down, it was decided that those sink-breaking, toilet-clogging, fire-starting jobless Wilsons needed to do a little reading to better themselves and reduce the risk of someone getting killed in a freak accident. And so, a cooking/mechanical study session was invoked to make sure that each family member had at least enough knowledge to cook without starting a fire or unclog a toilet, both of which apparently take a lot of talent.

Everyone gets cozy with "Plumbing and Cooking For Dummies". Chapter 1: How to Hold a Toilet Plunger.

Well, eventually, people weren't threatening to burn the house down on a daily basis or peeing themselves due to clogged latrines, and this was a big hook for potential visitors (although the handful that used to visit so they could see a real live house fire came a lot less frequently). However, despite the fetching "Dogs Playing Poker" living room murals and impressive twin TV living room setup, the Wilson house itself still just wasn't a whole lot of fun. Well, the solution was obvious: a second floor needed to be added, with a huge, well stocked bar and pool hall (a necessity for any well adjusted family).

Keri: "Can we discuss your dream of someday actually leaving the house after I take this shot?"

Well, the upper level was definitely an improvement. In addition to the bar and pool tables, it also featured a big screen TV, a TV behind the bar, a piano, a drum set, and a microphone. The drums were a favorite of Kitty, who'd always run off to play them whenever I wasn't watching, and had boosted her creativity to the max before the first time I checked it. Yes, the upstairs mega-bar definitely made entertaining guests (and the Wilsons themselves) a whole lot easier.

Kitty tells Kammy about how she gave up her dream of becoming a professional soccer player so she could sit around and do absolutely nothing.

After a while, it became impossible to imagine the Wilsons living without their butt-kicking upstairs addition. Sure, not having expansions installed limited what the family could do, but if they had to be stuck in the house forever, I figured it should be a fun one. Little did I know that that whole expansion thing was about to change very very soon, and turn the Wilson's simple life upside down...

Kammy seems to disapprove of the complete lack of windows in the upstairs room.

Well, that will do for now! When we return, we'll see what happens to the poor unsuspecting sims when the Superstar/Vacation expansions are thrust upon them. How will they take to their newfound freedom? Will any of them actually wind up getting a job? Will this finally be enough motivation for them to leave the house? We'll find out soon!