Ridgeway Legacy Family

Ch. 70 - Lilly the Crazy Cat Lady

2006-05-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I hear you all took some type of poll and that I'm supposed to turn into some Crazy Cat Lady or something? So this is what I'm destined for, is it? Well isn't this just great.

First I'm enticed into having an affair with a man that I can't have. Then I'm forced to have not one, but 8 - count them - EIGHT, of his children just to satisfy some sick goal that a certain bored "magic bean" had.

You know all I wanted out of life was to become the Mayor of this rinky dink little town. Is that too much to ask? And did I even get to go to work one measly little day? NO. Because I've been pregnant my entire adult life!

Don't get me wrong. I didn't hate it all. I mean, I did get this fabulous body that my author was nice enough to allow me to show off quite a few times by making me like walking around in my underwear. And Roderick was a good lover, even if he never left his stupid wife for me like he kept promising he would. I did get to have a good friendship with Liza Jane too. She's a lot of fun ... in many many ways.

*Lilly gets a smirk on her face and goes into a daze*

Oh. Um, where was I? Oh yeah, stuff I'm glad for. Yeah. I did end up with a good amount of money and a nice house, although I'm not sure how since I never worked. And I do love my kids. All eight of the little varmits...uh, I mean adorable little babies. So I guess I can do this one little thing for you all. I guess I can turn into the Crazy Cat Lady just to satisfy your twisted little sense of humor.

*sigh* It's my birthday anyway, and I suppose I'm due for a change. So...here goes nothing!

<- THE WEDDING STORY: WEDDING DAY / LILLY BROWN PT 2 ->

Ch. 69 - The Wedding Story: Wedding Day

2006-05-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

The big day had arrived. While Jasmine was out at Amelia's getting her hair and makeup done, Christopher had been very busy on the phone making all the preparations and ordering everything he needed to make his bride's day perfect.

He called his personal assistant and gave her specific instructions for what to pick up, what to drop off, and the rest of the details for the day.

"Make sure you get them all ok? And I want those really big bouquets. Yes, they should be all white flowers. Mary Sue is excellent - she'll pull them together for me" he instructed.

"Oh, and remember her gift?" he added "Make sure it's perfect. I don't want anything out of place down there at all. Remind me to give you a raise tomorrow too."

Jasmine was trying hard to sneak back into the house, but instead she bumped into Christopher.

"You're not supposed to see the bride before her wedding! It's bad luck!" she informed him.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were back. You look gorgeous. I love your hair like that" he told her.

"Uhh Christopher. That's not my hair you're looking at. Those haven't changed."

"What? Oh. Sorry. I umm...have things to check on. I'd better...yeah. You look great", he stammered.

The wedding was perfect, just as Christopher hoped it would be. Jasmine was radiant in her ivory gown and Christopher looked very handsome in his new suit. Jasmine had two Maids of Honor, Jupi and Eliza Ridgeway, and two flower girls, Annalise and Molly Ridgeway. Aiyana was also there, and signed their marriage certifcate as the witness.

After the ceremony, Christopher told everyone that he had a surprise for Jasmine, and was inviting everyone to come along with them. They piled into the limo, and headed into the next town.

When they got out of the limo, Eliza jumped out, excited to be there. "Cool! A park! Daddy, can we go play?". Christopher told her she could go swing, but to stay out of the dirt. The kids enthusiastically ran off, leaving Jasmine behind wondering what she was doing at a park in her wedding gown.

"It's your park Jas", he told her. "I bought it for you."

Jasmine couldn't believe her ears. First her dream bike, now her own park? "You bought this for me?" she asked.

Christopher told her that he remembered their conversation about how she had dreamed of owning her own business, and he knew how much she loves to be outside. When he heard that Old Man Hunter was struggling to keep up with the park, he made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

They spent the next hour dancing in Jasmine's new gazebo.

For all the pictures from the wedding, you can view their video here. If you'd prefer to see the pictures in a scrapbook format instead, click here.

Shortly after the wedding, Christopher got a disturbing letter in the mail from his father's attorney. It read:

He shook his head and said outloud, "Geez Pop. What have you done now."

<- THE WEDDING STORY: JASMINE'S RETURN / LILLY THE CRAZY CAT LADY ->

Ch. 68 - The Wedding Story: Jasmine's Return

2006-05-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Christopher hadn't been able to get in touch with Jasmine for months. He left message after message after message for her, but got no response from her. He was starting to think that he was right back where he started from and that he'd never see her again.

But Jasmine had other plans. She saw Willow's obituary in the paper and knew that Christopher was indeed single again, but she certainly wasn't going to throw herself at a newly widowed man.

Her roommate, Zoe, thought she was crazy to be involved with Christopher. She said that it was obvious that he had something to do with his wife's death. Women don't just go around being eaten alive by flies unless their husband had a hand in it.

Jasmine ignored her roommate's ridiculous theory, and after giving Christopher some time and doing a lot of thinking herself, decided to take a stroll over to Christopher's house. She needed to tell him how she felt.

After giving Christopher a big hug, and expressing her condolences on the loss of his wife & father, Jasmine told Christopher that she'd been doing a lot of thinking, about him, about their relationship and about whether or not they had a future together.

Christopher commented that he had been doing the same, and that she was all he could think of these past few months. Then he softly said "Jasmine, I've missed you."
"I've missed you too Christopher", she replied.

Christopher prepared himself for whatever she may have to say, then asked the question "So, umm, what's the verdict here? Do I still have a shot?".

Jasmine laughed, put her arms out, wiggled her fingers and said "Bring it on, Loverboy!".

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then", chuckled Christopher.

They spent the rest of the day together, soaking in the hot tub, swinging on the swings, playing chess, and cuddling on the couch. Christopher introduced Jasmine to his children, Jupi and Eliza, as well as his stepmother Aiyana and her children Annalise and Molly. Everyone really liked her, which made everything even better for Christopher. "You have a really wonderful family Christopher" said Jasmine. Hopefully, he thought, very soon they'd be her family too.

After being beaten by Jasmine at chess once again, Christopher decided it was time to give her a long overdue gift. He stood up, and extended his hand towards her. "Come with me. I've had something for you for a while now, and I'd love to give it to you today", he stated.

He told her to close her eyes, and led her outside. Once they were there, he placed her in front of her gift, and told her she could open her eyes.

Jasmine slowly opened her eyes, almost scared to see what was in front of her. When she finally opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what was sitting in front of her. This couldn't be happening! Wow, is this really hers?!

The shock eventually wore off and Jasmine let out a big "YESSSSSSS!!!"

Jasmine couldn't control her excitement and literally jumped on Christopher. "You are the best!" she yelled.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's take this baby out for a spin!" said Christopher.

Jasmine loved her new bike. They rode all over Strangetown, past her house (she just had to wave to Zoe as she drove by), past the park where they had their "talk" in, and eventually ended up downtown.

Christopher was enjoying the ride too. He liked how it felt to have his arms around Jasmine this time. He could get used to this. When Christopher noticed where they were, he tapped Jasmine on the shoulder and motioned for her to pull over in front of the restaurant up ahead.

"Wait" said Christopher as he grabbed Jasmine by the waist. "Before we go in there, I just wanted to tell you that I love you. I've loved you since the first time I saw you. I'm sorry that I washed your number, and that I failed to find you again", he confessed.

"Well it's about time", said Jasmine with a giggle in her voice "I've been wondering how long it was going to take for you to tell me you love me. And I love you too Christopher. I always have."

"So", asked Christopher "are you hungry?"

"Starving", she said with a flirtatious look on her face.

It took Christopher a minute to catch on, but when he did his face flushed. "I ummm..meant for dinner."

"Oh" she chuckled "yeah I'm hungry for food too".

Christopher opened the door to the same restaurant that they had run into each other at that one night a few months ago. He slipped the Hostess a $100 bill and quietly made a very specific request.

"Right this way Mr. Ridgeway", she said as she directed them to the same table that they sat together at that night.

They ate their dinner, had a few drinks, and even had some dessert. Christopher finally made eye contact with the Hostess and gave her a slight nod. A moment later, the waitress brought out a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, popped the cork and poured them both a glass. Christopher raised his glass in a toast and said "Here's to new beginnings". Jasmine blushed a little bit, and joined in the toast. She was hoping for a new beginning with Christopher but knew she shouldn't rush it. Maybe he wasn't ready yet. It had only been a few months. Maybe he needed more time.

Jasmine stood up and told Christopher that they should probably head back to the house. As she started to walk away from the table, Christopher stopped walking and simply said "Jasmine".

Something in the sound of his voice made her stop dead in her tracks. She suddenly noticed that everyone was looking at her. When she turned around, she instantly started crying.

Right there in front of everyone, Christopher was down on one knee and proposing to her.

In her excitement, all she heard was:
"I love you"
"You're incredible"
"...spend my life with you..."
"Will you marry me?"

You've probably figured out by now that Jasmine can get pretty excited, pretty fast. Before she even knew what she was doing, she blurted out "YES!". To Jasmine, everyone in the restaurant seemed to disappear. She didn't even hear everyone clapping for the newly engaged couple.

COMING NEXT: The Wedding

<- CHRISTOPHER & JASMINE VIDEO / THE WEDDING STORY: WEDDING DAY ->

Ch. 67 - Christopher & Jasmine; a Video

2006-05-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

*You may have to hit "PLAY" twice for it to start*

*FYI: Christopher gave Jasmine her own park as a wedding gift*

<- MEET MATTIE / THE WEDDING STORY: JASMINE'S RETURN ->

Ch. 66 - Meet Mattie

2006-05-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hewwo! I'm Mattie and I'm new here. I'm 9 years owd. I wike gymnastics, dancing and I'm a pwetty good singer.

My mama sent me and my wittle brothah to wive with our Aunt Amewia & Uncle Matthew. We both have his name, so he must be weawy nice.

This is my baby brothah, Matt. He's awmost a year owd. Unc bettah be caweful there 'cuz Matt has a habit of bawfing on peopwe when they toss him awound like that. It stinks something nasty too, just like that time I put my shoes in the dishwarsher. Tawk about stinky! Hoo baby!

So here we are, wiving in this big mansion. Mama said Aunt Amewia was a big movie stah, but she just wooks like an owd wady to me. She's pwetty, but she must be wike 100 years owd or something!

The mansion is humongoid! It has a big scween TV, which is perfect for watching Stah Wahs on. The force is with me! hehe!

So the fiwst thing that Auntie Amewia does is staht to way down the waw. Boooorrrrrring. I have to wipe my feet befowe I wawk inside, I must eat at the tabwe, can't tawk with my mouth full (no fun), and I have to cawl them "Mr & Mrs Howe".

"How about I CrushSmushCut ya fow it?"

"You mean Rock Paper Scissors?"

"Yeah. That's what I said. Crush Smush Cut"

I won, so I get to cawl them Papa and Meme. She hates the name Meme, but I think it fits her since she's ahways sayin' "Me! Me!".

Gotta run, Meme is cawlin' me to take a stupid bath.
Bye Bye!

<- KIM GETS TOO COMFORTABLE / CHRISTOPHER & JASMINE VIDEO ->

Ch. 65 - Kim Gets Too Comfortable

2006-05-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Kim lay in the grass outside of her home, gazing up at the stars. She had died, been saved by her husband, died again, had her soul put into this new, young body, and now was a widow. What to do next...hmmmm.

Well she was certain that she wasn't going back there. After all, Roddy was the only one that could do it and now...well...he's dead, isn't he? A lifetime is a short time to wait to be with someone for eternity anyway, so he could wait. It had been a long time since she had been young and skinny, and she was enjoying it. Ah yes, life is good for Kim. This time, things would be different. She wasn't the same sickingly sweet, naive Kimberly like she was in her previous life.

Just as she was starting to doze off, Christopher came out to talk to her.

"So...umm...Mom" he stammered "It's your lucky day. Pop showed me how to use the machines in his lab, so I can send you back."

"What do you mean, send me back?" she retorted.

"Umm, well you get to go back to the other side, or wherever it is that people go after they die, and be with Pop forever. I'm really not thrilled about having to do this, so let's get this over with".

"No way Baker Boy. You think I'm going to give up all this?", she said, waving her arms around at the house, the grounds and her young firm body. "He can wait for 50 years or so. Trust me, it'll fly right by for him. After all he is the one that gave me this second life. You can't just take it back!"

Christopher was shocked, and a bit angry at his "mother's" behavior.

"OH YES I CAN AND I WILL", he told her,. "This was Pop's last wish. All he wants is to be with YOU. That should mean something to you!"

He poked her in the chest and said "Now get your butt upstairs MOTHER so that I can zap you back to where you belong!"

Christopher stormed off to prepare the RADG machine, leaving Aiyana/Kim behind to get over the fact that her baby boy just thumped her in the chest and talked to her in a raised tone.

"Humpf", she thought to herself "he doesn't know who he's messing with".

Aiyana/Kim starts making plans in her head for how she's going to stop Christopher. She could turn off the power. She saw Roderick cause that blackout once. She could do that. Then Christopher wouldn't be able to use the machine for a good 7 hours or so. That would give her enough time to get out of town.

As she walks past Christopher to grab a Coke out of the fridge, she tosses him a wave and says "Bye bye Baker Boy. You gave it a nice try".

Then she turned and added...
"Oh and you can kiss your precious money goodbye too since I'm the rightful heir to it all now. Bet your precious Jasmine wouldn't love a poor man too much, now would she?". She giggled, then moved back towards the fridge.

Oh he's really not liking his mother this time around. What the heck happened to her when she was switched? She's so mean and she used to be so nice. Yes, he certainly was not enjoying his time with his mother at all.

Christopher's never tried this before but figures anything is worth a shot.
"Aiyana - if you're out there, I could use some help. Any help..."

Oh who was he fooling. He had no idea where she was. His father didn't even know where she went after he switched them. He was prepared to have to drag his mother upstairs by himself, tie her to the chair and zap her, if that's what it took.

Christopher went upstairs and tried to remember the directions his father taught him.

"Let's see" he mumbled "Put the thingy in the thingymajigger...turn the discombobulator on...oops, but first turn the whatsahoozit all the way up. Don't want the popalopajop to blow a gasket. Crazy freakin' directions..."

Finally it was ready. He loaded what he hoped was Aiyana's soul into the RADG2 machine. Now he just had to get his "mother" up there.

Downstairs, Aiyana/Kim was having a bit of a struggle of her own. She was trying to get upstairs to use Roderick's machine and cause a power outage, but everytime she got close, she''d see...

her own ghost! She tried her hardest to ignore her, but everywhere she turned she'd see herself and hear the voice saying "Give me back my body!"

Aiyana/Kim started chanting to herself as she paced through the house..."I can't see her! She's not there!"

"Yes she is Mommy" answered Annalise. "I can see the ghostie woman right behind you. She doesn't look happy at all Mommy".

Suddenly the ghost charged at Aiyana/Kim, giving her only one way to run, and that was up.

"CHRISTOPHER HELP ME!" she shrieked. "IT'S AFTER ME!"

Christopher saw his chance, and took it.

"Come over here Mother. I'll protect you", he coaxed.

He positioned her just as his father had taught him too and managed to slip the switch to it's "on" position while she was distracted.

"Wait a cotton pickin' minute here" said Aiyana/Kim suddenly "I remember this machine. This is the one your Daddy used on me just before he..."

Before she could finish her thought, Christopher zapped her. He hoped and prayed with every bone in his body that he had done everything right and that she was going to come back as Aiyana...a nice Aiyana would be an added bonus.

He knew that if this didn't work, she would be VERY mad and she was right - as Roderick's wife she'd inherit everything. She'd certainly kick him and his children out of his lifelong home.

As the smoke cleared, Christopher held his breath and tried to see who was standing before him.

Aiyana gasped for breath.

Christopher was able to breathe again. It worked. He had done it.

"Do you know where you are?" he asked

"YES! I'm back home. I've been trapped in that awful place for so long. How can I ever thank you enough?" she said, with a tear in her eye.

"I think I should thank you", replied Christopher "I assume that was you that helped me get my mother back up here?"

Aiyana laughed "Yes. It's the only fun I've had the whole time I was there". She went on to tell him about being trapped in between planes, and how sad and confusing it is. She told him that at the end, when he put her soul in the vials, she was clinging on so that she could scare Kim into the attic, then felt herself being pulled away. That's when she opened her eyes and found herself home. She said she had been watching Kim the whole time and knew about Annalise and Molly, and was looking forward to being their mother.

Then she said "I'm so sorry about your father. Christopher, he's stuck there too - they all are. Jebidiah, Jan, Quinten, Willow, your father and now your mother. It's a horrid place, which is why they haunt this house. They want to be at rest but don't know how to finish crossing over".

"But don't worry" she added "I'll help you figure out how to give them the peace they deserve. Right now, will you come with me? I want to go meet my children".

Christopher nodded his head and sighed a heavy sigh. He had a feeling that this was only the beginning of his experiences with his family ghosts.

<- RODERICK'S LAST WISH / MEET MATTIE ->

Ch. 64 - Roderick's Last Wish

2006-05-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

It was a big day for Roderick. He had invited all of his children over for a cookout to celebrate his 76th birthday. This would be the first time he would have all of his children together, and he was really looking forward to it.

But Roderick was also a little concerned. He knew what the doctors had told him. He knew he didn't have much time left. It was something he hadn't shared with anyone else, not even his wife. Roderick knew that he was living on borrowed time. He hoped that he made the right choice in teaching Christopher how to operate the RADG machines. Maybe he should have taught Stuart how to do it. He loved science and was more like a true Mad Scientist. Christopher was just some pansy cook on TV. Roderick realized that if this didn't work, he'd be stuck on the other side without Kimberly. He decided that after the party, he'd switch them back himself. Sure he'd have to deal with Aiyana when she realized what he did to her, but he was confident that he could handle her. Afterall, if she got too out of line, he could just zap her into a fern.

While Roderick was in the family cemetary visiting Kimberly's grave and plotting the next soul switching event, Christopher was inside making plans of his own.
"Yes, that's the one I want.
Do you have any in blue?
Oh you do have it in stock? Excellent!
Can I get it delivered?
Yes. Yes. I'm that Chef.
Thank you sir.
Actually you'd have to send your recipe ideas to my producer.
No it's ok.
So it'll be delivered tomorrow?
Thank you very much.
Yes I'll wave to you on TV. Bye"

Christopher heard the commotion outside and knew that everyone had arrived...all 19 of his brothers and sisters. They had a great afternoon together eating, chatting, playing and dancing. Finally Roderick pulled them all together for this family picture:

You can see the other group family shots by in the Family Scrapbook.

After the pictures were done, Christopher decided to go back inside and give Jasmine a call. He hadn't talked to her since he saw her at the restaurant that one night, and wanted to tell her everything that had happened and that he was a single man again.

But before he could get to the phone, an awful image popped up in his head. He could see his father standing in the yard where he had just left him, clutching his chest. Christopher shook his head, determined to put the image out of his head, but it stuck with him. He could feel his father's pain and sadness. Something was very wrong.

"POP!", Christopher yelled as he ran back outside hoping to find that his feeling was wrong and his father was perfectly fine.

As he got closer though he could see that everything wasn't fine and his father was definitely not ok.

Christopher ran as fast as he could, but he was too late. Death had already come calling for Roderick. His heart was simply too weak, and gave out. As Roderick faded away, he was surrounded by his children and his wife.

Roderick was able to get his breath long enough to say one last thing to his son.

"Christopher, my boy. Remember what we practiced. You can do it. I...need...her."

Aiyana/Kim looked up and asked him "Practiced what? Need WHO?", but Roderick was already gone.

Roderick was 76 years old and leaves behind a wife, a mistress, 20 children and 6 grandchildren.

<- LEIF MOVES BACK HOME / KIM GETS TOO COMFORTABLE ->

Ch. 63 - Leif Moves Back Home

2006-05-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

Mace had gotten pretty comfortable in his house. He was enjoying having his own place - a place where he could invite the ladies over to. He didn't have to answer to anyone else or share anything with anyone.

But what Mace didn't know is that things weren't going so well for his brother Leif. He had been sharing a house with some friends. The friends had gotten married, and just had their first child. That meant they needed the room that Leif was in, and Leif had to go. Leif only had one place to go...that was back home.

He liked what his little brother had done with the place. There wasn't a pink thing in the whole house. Hot dog...this was nice, he thought. He could get very comfortable here.

"Dude" said Mace flatly "can't you crash somewhere else? I have a chick comin' over".

Leif assured him that he could still have his friend over and that he'd stay out of their way.

Mace's date was Kristen Singles, a girl who Leif secretly had a crush on. He watched as they giggled and flirted with each other and wondered what she saw in his brother. He knew that Mace was just using Kristen, and he couldn't watch it anymore, so he turned to go back into the hot tub.

"Oh the hot tub!", said Kristen "That sounds like fun. Come on Mace!"
Mace told her he'd grab his bathing suit and be right there. But after a few minutes when Mace still wasn't in the hot tub, Kristen went to find him.

Well she found Mace, and he was getting something on, but it wasn't his suit.

Mace was caught red-handed. Kristen let him have it, then stomped off to change back into her clothes. Who was that girl anyway?

Just as Kristen was storming out of the house, Leif offered her a ride home. She thanked him, and climbed in his car, glaring at a very shocked Mace as they pulled out. When Leif pulled the car up to her house, Kristen changed her mind. "I don't really feel like going inside. Let's go somewhere - anywhere". Leif wasn't really dressed to go out - he was still in his bathing suit - but he didn't mind. "Ok, I know just the place" he said.

"Come on Kristen. Sing with me", asked Leif.
"Wait. I don't think I know this song." she replied. "Is this song about a Beaver or something?"
"Just read the lyrics and follow along. It's a classic" says Leif.

Before long, Kristen had the song down pat.

Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam
Do the jitterbug out in muskrat land
And they shimmy
Sam is so skinny

And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed
Singin' and jingin' the jango
Floatin' like the heavens above
It looks like muskrat love

They stayed and sang all night, until finally the place closed down for the night. Outside, Kristen gave Leif a big hug.

"Thank you Leif, for everything. You've been really nice to me and I had a great time. It was a lot of fun."

Leif opened his mouth to ask her if she wanted to do it again the next night, but decided it was probably bad timing. Instead he told her to call if she needed anything.

Right now he was going to focus on keeping his brother's hands off of Kristen.

(Leif is a Sous Chef and a Pleasure asp with a LTW to be a Celebrity Chef)

<- COOPER THE CAD / RODERICK'S LAST WISH ->

Ch. 62 - Cooper the Cad

2006-05-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

Cooper and Alyson were happily married, at least Alyson thought they were. Cooper couldn't help it...he was addicted to romance. He'd get it from anyone, anywhere, anytime. He knew it was a risk and that his wife might find out, but it was a risk he was willing to take. Alyson however, was totally oblivious to her husband's ways and was convinced that he was completely faithful to her.

"Isn't it cute how he likes to wrestle with his friends?", says Alyson.

A few years went by, and Cooper continued his ways - romancing anyone he came in contact with and happened to befriend. Little Angela grew up from a baby to a toddler, and was now ready to grow into a little girl. The night before her birthday, Cooper left the house to go get his scheduled Botox injection. As you can see, he was pretty happy with the results.

While he was gone, Alyson went upstairs to put away some clean laundry. As she put his socks in his drawer, her hand brushed against something hard. She pulled it out, and decided that one peek inside couldn't hurt.

When Cooper pulled up to the house, Alyson was waiting.

"YOU CAD! I found your little black book!", she yelled.
"Please don't hurt me!" pleaded Cooper, as he put his hands up to protect his face.

"You mean like this?!", said Alyson as she smacked him across the kisser.

Cooper put his hands on his face and started sobbing. He wondered if she was buying it, and took a peek out of the side of his hands. Busted again.

"I'm not buying your crocodile tears buddy boy. My mother was right about you. You are a good for nothing cad." said the furious Alyson.

"Your mother?" he asked "She wasn't in the book. How'd you find out about her?"

Alyson leaned forward to punch him, but Cooper backed away. "Don't hit me!" he shrieked.

Alyson made it clear that he was to be nowhere around either her or Angela that night, and she went to bed. Cooper slept on the couch...ironically it was the same couch he was "wrestling" with his friend on.

Alyson didn't sleep well at all that night. Thoughts of the past several years were running through her head. For the first time, she wasn't under Coopers spell and she was able to see things clearly. He had been cheating the whole time. She woke up and knew what she had to do.

She told Cooper that it was over. He had made a fool of her and Angela long enough. He was instructed to take his stuff and get out.
"But. But. But. The book wasn't mine. I was holding it for a friend. She meant nothing. None of them did. I already ended it. You're the only one for me baby?". Cooper tried all the excuses, but nothing worked.

"Get. Out." Alyson firmly stated.
Cooper knew that if he wanted to live, he would have to leave.

On his way out, he turned and asked "Can I have my black book back?". Alyson slammed the door in his face.

Her first thought was of Angela. Had she heard the argument? Alyson ran upstairs to check on her and was pleased to find her sound asleep. Today was her birthday and she didn't want anything to ruin that day.

Alyson and Angela celebrated her birthday together. They had a "Girls Pajama Party" with cake and ice cream. They watched movies, painted each others nails and did each other's hair & makeup. It was a fun way to end a very sad day for Alyson.

Angela was also sad. She only pretended to be asleep when her mother came in her room earlier that day. Angela had, in fact, heard the entire fight. She knew that her Daddy did something very bad and she knew that he was gone. Angela was very angry and very hurt.

The next day she sat down at her new keyboard (a gift from her Grandma Amelia) and sang a song about her Daddy:

You fooled her with your kisses
You cheated and you schemed
Heaven knows how you lied to her
You're not the way you seem.

You're the devil in disguise
Oh yes you are
The devil in disguise

<- CHRISTOPHER'S DINNER / LEIF MOVES BACK HOME ->

Ch. 61 - Christopher's Dinner

2006-05-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Christopher had spent the whole day downtown. He needed a break from Willow and her trash. After spending some time deep in thought, he realized that he needed to face the facts. Jasmine was gone and he'd probably never see her again. He had made a hasty decision when he married Willow, and now he was stuck with her.

He laid his menu down and looked around for his waitress. He didn't see her anywhere, but instead he was amazed to see...

Jasmine! Christopher couldn't believe his eyes! Her hair was a little different, but that had to be Jasmine! Just as he was reaching to pinch himself, she walked out of the restaurant doors. Christopher jumped out of his chair, over the table and ran out to catch her, nearly knocking his waitress over in the process.

Christopher felt like he had lost all control. It was as if his body were on Auto Pilot. Before he knew it, he was at the door blurting out "JASMINE?!"

The slender figure slowly turned around and gazed at Christopher. She took a step forward and replied "Christopher?! Is that really you?"

He was amazed at how quickly she moved towards him, and how tightly he hugged him. If he were dreaming again, he never wanted to wake up.

Then, they both started talking at the same time:
"Where did you...?"
"How did you...?"
"I tried to..."

Jasmine laughed. "You first".

Christopher suddenly found himself with so much to say, but no words were coming out. Finally he was able to ask her if she wanted to come back in for some dinner or dessert.

"Actually I was supposed to meet my friend Zoe here for dinner, but I see she's stood me up. I'd love to have dinner with you", answered Jasmine.

The two went back in, and sat back down at the table that Christopher had started his dinner at. They talked about the weather, about the recent heatwave in Veronaville, and about the latest BananasRRFriends fashions.

Finally Jasmine asked the question...

"So Christopher. Why didn't you ever call me? I mean, I thought we had a great time...didn't we?"

Christopher nearly choked on his food. "I umm...washed your phone number with my jeans." he admitted. He went on to tell her about how he tried to find her through the matchmaking service, but that the number and address they had weren't any good.

"Oh. That." replied Jasmine. "Well see my friend Zoe and I were getting ready to travel around the world and ... well I wasn't expecting to meet someone like you Christopher. That's why I gave you my actual phone number."

Then she said with a wink, "But hey, we can always pick up where we left off, right loverboy?".

Christopher took a big drink and tried to think of a good way to explain everything to her. He took a good, long drink. Nothing came to him.

"Oh boy am I in trouble"

Yup Christopher, you'd better think of something fast. I suggest honesty.

"Uh Jasmine. Wanna go for a ride on my bike?", asks Christopher.

"Heck yeah!" Jasmine replies.

Christopher and Jasmine rode all over town on his Harley. It felt great to ride down the street with her arms wrapped around his waist. It was just like in his dream. He never wanted this night to end, but he realized though that he had a family at home and that he needed to get back to them.

"Jasmine, I think we should sit down and talk" said Christopher.
"I agree", replied Jasmine.

They ended up doing very little talking.

Finally Christopher pulled back and told Jasmine he needed to stop.

"Jasmine, I'm nothing like my father. I can't do this with you unless and until I can be completely faithful to you, and right now I can't do that".

He went on to tell her everything about Willow, his abduction and his two daughters. Jasmine hung on ever word, and when he was done she said "Wow Christopher. You've really blown me away here. I wasn't expecting all of this. I thought I'd come back here and find you single and waiting for me. I guess I was living some fantasy or something. But I understand. You had to move on."

She got up and brushed the leaves and dirt off of her skirt, and asked him to drive her home. The ride home was a somber one for Jasmine. She clung to him tighter then before, thinking she may not have another chance.

Christopher rode home the long way. He had to think of a way to get his emotions under control before he got home. Just when he thought he had it all figured out, he found Jasmine again and now he's more confused then ever! Oh he wished Willow would just get sucked in her stupid trash pile and vanish!

As he climbs off of his bike, he can't help but notice the loud buzzing sound coming from the side of the house. What on earth has that woman done now, he wonders. As he turns the corner, he got the shock of his life when he saw what Willow was actually doing.

"Oh these pesky pesky flies!" Willow complained.

Those were her last words. Willow was a victim of her own trash. She's been buried in the family cemetary next to Quinten McAuley.

Christopher was astonished. First he has a dream of riding his bike with Jasmine, and it comes true. The he has a thought of Willow being eaten up by her trash pile, and he comes home to find it really happening. What is going on? Then it dawns on him...

*chuckling* "Funny how things work out, isn't it?"

"Jasmine baby, here I come!"

<- WHO'S YER MAMA? / COOPER THE CAD ->

Ch. 60 - Who's Yer Mama?

2006-05-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

You've already met 5 of Roderick's 6 grandchildren: Jupi, Eliza, Sage, Kuruk and Kachine. The most interesting story however, is about how Roderick got his 6th grandchild.

Graham is Roderick's 3rd child. He's graduated from college as a Psych Major with a 4.0 GPA, despite his addiction to the opposite sex (and if he's desperate enough, the same sex). Graham was a Big Man on Campus, and was very popular among the ladies. Graham has worked his way up the ladder in the entertainment business and has made quite a name for himself. He's considered the newest Hollywood Icon. Strangetown hasn't had such a big star in it's midst since the days of Amelia Howe, so it's nice to have a fresh young handsome face to brag about. It also helps Graham to score with the ladies...

One night Graham was woken up in the middle of the night by an awful noise outside. "Aw man, the neighbors stupid cat must be at it again" he wondered, as he climbed out of bed. When he got to the front door though, there was no cat. Instead, he found a note attached to the door. It read:

That's when Graham looked down.

Lo and behold, there was a baby on his front porch. Graham looked around, but didn't see anyone. He didn't recognize the hand writing - but that doesn't mean much. He never stuck around with anyone long enough to find out much more than how good they were in bed.

Graham leaned down and picked the baby up. "Hey there little slugger", he said to his son. "What's your name?" He waited for a minute, as if he were actually waiting for the baby to answer, then Graham said "It's Presley...Presley Ridgeway. You like that name?"

Little Presley coo'd for his father, which Graham took to mean "Yes Daddy, I do like it".

"C'mon buddy, we'd better get you inside. Guess you can't tell me who your mommy is, can you?", Graham asked his son.

So far, they seem to be doing pretty well. Graham has hired a nanny, who takes good care of Presley but leaves Graham's house a mess by the end of the day (he's a real neat freak - a touch OCD even). We'll see if this ends up cramping Graham's style or not. So far, Graham hasn't been able to figure out who his son's mother is either.

To see a picture of Roderick and his 6 grandchildren, along with one of Roderick with all 20 of his kids, go to their Family Scrapbook .

<- BEARS & BUTTERFLIES / CHRISTOPHER'S DINNER ->

Ch. 59 - Bears & Butterflies

2006-05-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

(My apologies for how long this one is. I didn't realize how behind in updating for the Blackhawks I was.)
(FYI: "Azhee" means "Father" in Navajo, "Atsili" means "younger brother" & "Ashkii" means "boy")

When we had last talked about the Blackhawks, Catherine and Brent had just had their first baby, a little girl named Sage. Brent wasted no time in suggesting that they try for another. Heck, Catherine was always up for "trying" with Brent.

Well they didn't have to try for very long before they were expecting their second child. Pregnancies are hard on Catherine and all she can do is eat and sleep until the baby is born.

It was all worth it when their son, named Kuruk (pronounced Koo'rook) was born. Kuruk means "Bear" in their native language.

Bear was stunned when he heard the name that his brother and sister-in-law chose for their new son.

"You named him after me?" he asked.

"Yes Atsili", replied Brent. "I know we haven't been very close, but you are my family and I wanted to honor that."

Bear was speechless (which doesn't take much actually). He held his nephew and looked into his eyes.

"Hello little one. You do have the spirit of the bear in you." he whispered. Bear and Kuruk fell asleep together on the recliner that night.

Brent and Catherine didn't stop at these two though. They decided to try for one more. Once again, it didn't take long for them to conceive their third baby. It was another tough pregnancy for Catherine, but this time was different in one way - the baby she was carrying was much more active than her previous two. She joked that this baby was going to grow up to be a famous dancer.

Finally the day came when they got to welcome their new daughter into the world. They named her Kachine, which means "Sacred Dancer". The name seemed to suit her. All three babies had their fathers green eyes & medium complexion, but Kachine's hair was lighter than her older siblings.

Life for the Blackhawks wasn't all about the joys of having babies though...

One sunny afternoon, Bear went up to the balcony to see what new masterpiece his father was working on. When he got there, he couldn't help but notice the look on his fathers face. "Azhee, what is it? What do you see?" asked Bear.

Billy wasn't ready to relay the message he'd gotten, but he knew he had no choice.

"Ashkii. I won't be far away. Take care of Sarah."

And with that message said, Billy left for his journey to the afterlife. Billy was 73 yrs old and leaves behind his wife Sarah (Ridgeway McAuley) Blackhawk, sons Brent and Bear, daughter in law Catherine and grandchildren Sage, Kuruk and Kachine.

"Dad, no! Come back!" yelled Bear. Bear was sad to see his father go. He knew that he could be ... well ... a bear to live with. He knew that he was a little rough around the edges and that it made it hard for people to get close to him. He knew that he had pushed his father and brother away in the past, and now he was regretting it. He always thought he had more time.

Just then a hand touched him on his shoulder.

"It's ok Bear", said Sarah softly. "He's with your ancestors. It's where he wanted to be. We'll see him again", and she hugged him tightly.

Then Sarah and Bear cried together.

Sarah had lost two husbands to Death. Suddenly, Sarah felt very lonely. The thought of sleeping in her empty bed knotted her stomach up. She wished she didn't have to be so alone.

Sarah's family might as well have been mind readers. As soon as they heard of Billy's passing, her brother Roderick (not in this picture), sister Amelia and niece Alyson came over to console Sarah. They spent the night sitting in the hot tub talking about everything except death.

Meanwhile, Bear was upstairs thinking about his father's last words to him: "Take care of Sarah". He knew that there was no question about it, but that's exactly what he needed to do. Bear waited for Sarah's family to leave, then called her inside and then ...

Bear proposed to Sarah. "To honor the memory of my father", he said "Sarah, will you marry me?"

Sarah was stunned. Her husband had just died, and now his son was willing to put his life on hold to honor his father's last wish.

She gave Bear a big hug, thanked him for caring so deeply, kissed him on the cheek, and went to bed.

*~* THE END *~*

HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! Aren't you going to tell my story? Am I going to have to get all Indian Warrior on your butt?

Oops. Sorry Bear, it was a simple oversight. No need to get your panties in a bunch. It's going to have to be the shortened version though - in an effort to keep this from turning into a novel.

Bear, a General Practitioner, was working some long, hard hours at work. On his off hours, he enjoyed gazing up at the stars. He often wondered if there was life up there. On this particular night, he'd get his answer.

"Umm, a little help here? I changed my mind. I don't want to know anymore!" pleaded Bear.

Too late Bear. You've been abducted.

While Catherine and Brent worried about Bear, Sarah wondered if this story could make another best seller for her. She called her publisher, who was very interested. Catherine made a comment about how she can tell that her Aunt Sarah was related to Catherine's father - they're both nuts.

A few hours later, Bear is dropped back off at home. He, fortunately, remembers nothing.

Bear seemed to bounce back from his abduction pretty well. He was even eager to go up again, hoping he'd remember something this time. However, he did notice that his stomach was often queasy and that certain smells made him feel a bit sick to his stomach. He's sure it's just a virus or something and it'll pass eventually...

Then one day, while Bear was helping Kuruk get ready for his nap, he grabbed his stomach in agony. These were by far, the worst gas pains he'd ever had. This virus hadn't gone away. It was making him bloated and tired all the time. Maybe he should go see a Doc....ahhhhhh!!!

Much to Bear's surprise, his stomach opened up and out popped a little baby. He didn't even know he was pregnant. Men can't get pregnant...can they? Well either way, he had a new daughter in his hands now. He named her Aponi, which means "butterfly".

*~* THE END...AGAIN *~*

<- WILLOW IS A SLOB / WHO'S YER MAMA? ->

Ch. 58 - Willow Is A Slob

2006-05-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

Willow seemed to be settling in to life as a Ridgeway pretty well, except for one thing.

Willow just couldn't help herself and frequently slipped back into her old ways. She was often spotted in town, rummaging through other people's trash cans for anything she could clean up and reuse. Among some of her best finds were:
* One size 10 Nike cross trainer (for the left foot)
* A half eaten banana (perfectly good for making banana bread with)
* An empty tomato soup can (great for holding her bottle cap collection), slightly dented & a bit crusty.

Christopher was having a really hard time dealing with his wife's habits - and with the smell in the house from her post-trash-picking-leftovers.

The whole house was starting to smell and people were starting to complain. Christopher decided it was time to put his foot down. "We are the wealthiest people in town", he told her. "There is no need for you to go digging through other people's trash! The whole house smells bad and people are starting to complain, including the rest of the family. You need to stop this, Willow!" Christopher insisted.

Willow wasn't happy with this news.

"How can he talk to me like that?" she thought, "It wasn't like I did anything wrong."

"I just can't live like this! He just doesn't appreciate how creative I am. I should just...ooooo what is that awful pain?!"

The pain turned out to be a sign that their little daughter, Eliza, was on her way. Eliza was born with her mom's medium complexion, red hair and blue eyes.

A few weeks later, Aiyana/Kim was watching TV with Willow when she was suddenly overcome with the most horrendous odor she'd ever smelled (don't worry she's not pregnant again - this was just before little Molly was born).
"Oh my god, what is that smell?" asked Aiyana/Kim.
"Oops sorry" stated Willow with a giggle in her voice "I let one rip".
"Holy cow Willow! Do something about that, would you?" insisted Aiyana/Kim.

Christopher smelled it too...all the way from their bedroom (where he was cleaning up her trash pile).

"Willow your gas does not smell like flowers" he informed her. "You're grossing everyone out"

Willow was confused. "So...what are you saying exactly Chrissy?"

Christopher just shook his head and walked away to find the air freshener and light some candles. On second thought, lighting candles at that particular point in time may be a bit dangerous - he'd wait to do that until later.

That night, Christopher woke up with a start. What a dream he'd had. Or...was it a dream? It felt so real. He dreamt that Jasmine was his wife, and that Willow was gone. He dreamt of riding his motorcycle with Jasmine on the back, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. But he knew this couldn't be true - he couldn't find Jasmine!

Christopher ran out to the kitchen, hoping to find that he wasn't dreaming at all. Instead he was greeted with dishes in the sink, and trash spread out all over the kitchen. We won't repeat what Christopher said, but the words weren't pretty.

"Why Willow? Why can't you just clean up after yourself?" he asked his wife.

"Silly Chrissy," she replied, "that's what we have a maid for!"

How could he have not seen this about her. Was he blinded by fear after the abduction? Was he in a rush to marry so that his baby would have a mother? Maybe he was just working too hard now, and needed a day off. Yeah...a day off. He'd take the day off and go into town to spend the day alone. That's what he needed.

Christopher showered, called in sick to work, and told his wife that he'd be spending the day in town. She told him to have fun, then went back to digging through her trash pickings for the day.

On his way out, he saw his father and "mother" cuddling on the couch.

"Oh would you two get a room already?" he sneered. They had a lot of nerve being so happily married while he was so miserable.

Christopher had a good day in town. He went to his favorite book store and got the latest John Grisham book. He bought a few new outfits and even got some gifts for his two daughters.

Christopher spent the rest of the day sitting by the lake deep in thought. He wondered where Jasmine was and what she was doing right now. He wondered if some other lucky guy got to hold her and kiss her. Then he shook his head, and told himself to put her out of his mind. He made the decision to marry Willow, and he had to stick with her even if she was a little gross at times. He had children to think about now.

It had been a long day and Christopher was getting hungry. He wasn't going to stop before going home, but he always wanted to try this new restaurant in town. They were his biggest competition and he wanted to see just how good their chef really was. Just as Christopher was getting ready to order, he glanced up to see if the waitress was around. Instead he saw...

<- I AIN'T GETTING ANY YOUNGER / BEARS & BUTTERFLIES ->

Ch. 57 - I Ain't Gettin' Any Younger

2006-05-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

Roderick had managed to bring Kimberly back to life via the body of Aiyana. Most of his kids were off at college, and the rest were growing like weeds. He had officially signed the deed to Ridgeway Estates over to Christopher, who had let his father and family stay there for as long as they wanted. Of course there was that one stipulation that he had to stop having kids in order to make room for the children that Christopher & Willow wanted to have. Although Roderick thought it was a silly thing to ask (there was more than enough room), he agreed. Life seemed to be good for Roderick except for one thing ... Roderick was bored. He started doing things like standing over the gardener pointing out spots on the bushes that needed tending to, and cleaning the same spot on the counters over and over again.

Christopher decided that his father needed a new hobby, and bought him a new workbench thinking his dad could build things like birdhouses and things like that. Instead, Roderick started building robots. So far, they're only little toy robots, but we'll see how fast this Mad Scientist can come up with some new strange type of robot to scare the dickens out of some kid with.

One day, while tinkering with his new robot designs, a thought hit Roderick like a ton of bricks. He was an old man. Certainly he wouldn't be around much longer. Once he crossed over, he'd be right back where he was before - without Kimberly. He had to make a plan so that when he crossed over, Kimberly would come back with him. But ... how?

Roderick decided the best course of action to take was to tell Christopher everything, then teach him how to reverse the RADG machine to send Kimberly's soul back to the afterlife, and Aiyana's back into her body. It was his only shot. He sat down and explained the whole thing to a very shocked Christopher.

"You mean that woman is really ... Mom?", asked Christopher.

"Well. In a nutshell. Yep" answered Roderick.

"Pop," asked Christopher, "are you on any medication I should know about?"

"Very funny, boy. Come upstairs & I'll show you" said Roderick.

Roderick took his son upstairs, and started teaching him the process of soul switching.

"Ok boy, you simply put the thingy in the thingymajigger. Then turn the discombobulator on, but make sure first that the whatsahoozit is turned all the way up. Otherwise the popalopajop will blow a gasket and it'll all be downhill from there", instructed Roderick.

"Pop. These instructions make no sense. There is no such thing as a popalopajop. Are you sure you're not on some kind of dope or something?" enquired Christopher.

"I'll have you know that these are very real terms. I got them out of the Mad Scientist Handbook. Just concentrate on what you're doing boy."

"Once you're done" continues Roderick "a vial of blue liquid will appear in the whozamajigger window. That will be Aiyana - well sort of. Walk her very carefully over to the RADG Part 2 machine, and insert her into the little window marked "Put Souls Here". Then have your mom stand VERY STILL and flip the switch. Ignore the smell of burning hair, it doesn't last long and leaves no mark on the vict...uh...volunteer."

"You mean like this Pop?" says Christopher as he flips the switch.

Roderick lights up like a Christmas Tree. When it was all over and done...

Roderick was not happy.
"NOT ME YOU MORON!" yelled Roderick.
Christopher couldn't help but laugh. "Pop, I think you lost a little hair on that one", he said as he continued to chuckle.

Later as the father and son enjoyed a game together, Christopher asked, "So Pop, how ya feeling?"

"Not funny boy" replied Roderick.

Then he added "One day, I'm going to be dead and I'll make sure that you're the first person I haunt, you little brat."

It felt good for Christopher to have something in his life to laugh about...

<- RODERICK GETS HIS GROOVE ON / WILLOW IS A SLOB ->

Ch. 56 - Roderick Gets His Groove On

2006-05-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

We all know that Roderick doesn't seem to have any plans to stop procreating with his two women, wife Aiyana/Kimberly and mistress Lilly.

Here's his list of kids so far:
Christopher - Catherine - Graham - Nicholas - Lily - Stuart - Ian - Todd - Bruce - Jeannie - Tia - Kayla - Layla - Brooke - Roy - Annalise

You can now add a few more to his list:

James Brown (No relation to the famous singer) . Another blonde hair, blued eyed child for Lilly and Rod.

Roddy Brown (named after his father) . This little tyke actually has red hair and blue eyes.

EXCUSE ME?! Why do you keep making me pregnant?! I'm tired dammit!

Our apologies Lilly. Be patient, it's almost over.

Gabrielle Brown. Another blond hair/blue eyed beauty.

The final baby is born:

Molly Ridgeway. Molly has dark hair and brown eyes.

That's 20 - yes 20 - kids for Roderick. Hopefully he's been teaching them all about the beauty of scholarships.

Here are their whereabouts:
Christopher: Adult, college grad, Exec Chef, married, living in Ridgeway estates
Catherine: Adult, college grad, Detective, married, living with the Blackhawks
Graham: Adult, college grad, no further info yet
Nicholas: YA, college student
Lily: YA, college student
Stuart: YA, college student
Ian: YA, college student
Todd: YA, college student
Bruce: YA, college student
Jeannie: YA, college student
Tia: YA, college student
Kayla: YA, college student
Layla: YA, college student
Brooke: YA, college student
Roy: Child, student
Annalise: Child, student
James: Child, student
Roddy: Child, student
Gabrielle: Toddler
Molly: Infant

I wonder what Lilly will do now that she's made it clear that she's not having any more babies?

<- A DAY IN THE LIFE OF LJ / I AIN'T GETTIN ANY YOUNGER ->

Ch. 55 - A Day in the Life of LJ

2006-05-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Great guns, yer back! Pull up a chair n' sit a spell. Have I got a treat, special jus' fer ya'll!

There's sure has been quite a fuss made over Ms Liza Jane. Yessiree, ya'll have kept our mail guys n' gals busier than a one legged man in a butt-kickin' contest! So instead of makin' those poor people answer all that mail, we're gonna just tag along with LJ for a day and see what it is that she does all day. Yes indeedy!

But first, have I told ya'll how much I love bananas? Bananas, although a nutritious snack, are also sweet and good fer yer brain. Did ya'll know they make ya happy too? Yes indeedy, bananas make me very happy. Why I love bananas so much, that I got me this here shirt to profess my love of bananas. You can git yers here , compliments of BananasRRFriends Clothing. Wear it with pride ya'll. OK LJ, over to you!

*singing* You got the right stuff, baby. You got the right stuff..

Oh. Oh are we on? *ahem*
Liza Jane here, on the streets of Strangetown answering your questions and getting the gossip that...what? What's that? They're what? Following me around? All day? Who's idea was this!

Umm, ok well from the look on my producers face, I either go along with this or he's going to do something that involves rearranging my facial structure.

Well, here goes nothing. Meet ya back here at 7am sharp tomorrow morning. Hang on to your tightie whities viewers.

*The next day...*

Ohhhh how much did I have to drink last night? How'd he get here? Crikey. Oh well, time for breakfast.

Geez O Pete's, now I know I drank too much last night. I'm seeing a chick with a banana gun on her shirt. If I ignore her, she'll go away. Meanwhile I'll just drink my breakfast and practice for my scene in "Basic Instinct 3".

Halloo? I'd like to take a bath now. Must we have camera's in the potty room too? A little privacy please?

Help yourself to the donuts. Don't touch the pink ones, they're mine. Don't touch the ones with the sprinkles either. They're mine too. Or the blueberry ones. Or the...oh heck, just have some cereal.

I feel like there is something that I should remember about last night, but it's the darndest thing...oh well, it'll come to me.

*INTERMISSION*

ALL RIGHT, WHO PUT THE BABY ON THE FLOOR?! This is not a funny joke guys! You know I'm highly allergic to babies. Heavens to Betsy, what died in it's pants?

So, let's take this one step at a time here. I had a party last night. I remember dancing.

I know I danced with Lilly, but I have no idea who that one guy was. I think he wandered in off the street. Most of my nearest and dearest friends were here. The last thing I remember clearly is the awesome hickey I got. I can't believe it didn't leave a mark.

After that, it's all a blur.

Whoa Nelly, talk about Hangover City.

I must have bitten my cheek really hard during the night because I can still taste the blood in my mouth. Eww.

I hope I didn't do anything last night that I'm going to regret.

*laughing* Nahhhh.

Enough about that, time for work. I hear there's some juicy stuff going on at Beauty by Amelia.

*INTERMISSION*

So here we are at Beauty by Amelia. There seems to be some ruckus going on over in the makeover department.

Tell me...just what happened here?

Customer 1: Just look at what she did to my face! Your ad said you specialized in alien complexions. Amelia YOU SUCK!

Customer 2: Yeah and she made me look like some kind of circus freak! I want my money back!
LJ: Uh, Amelia said it was a free makeover. You can't refund "free", Toots.
Customer 2: Oh yeah. Well then I want a free bar of soap!

We're happy to report that Customer # 2 (Erin Singles) got another free makeover, and this one turned out much better. Customer # 1 fled the scene and is currently running amok in Strangetown, looking stranger than ever. Police warn to use caution when approaching the Bad Makeoveree - she is to be considered armed and dangerous.

Whew! That was a lot of work. I'm beat. I'm also ending this whole "Follow LJ around" thing. It's cramping my style. I think I'll go home, kick my feet up and have a Bloody Mary. Mmmmm Blood...y Mary. That sounds good.

<- ALL ABOARD! / RODERICK GETS HIS GROOVE ON ->

Ch. 54 - All Aboard!

2006-04-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Mace had grown up into an adult. He had questions for his mom, and he was ready for some answers.

"Mom, I know Jessie wasn't my dad. I don't look anything like him. Just who is my dad anyway?" asks Mace.

"Oh sweetie, I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I have a guest waiting for me in the hot tub. We'll talk when he leaves ok?", answers Lizzie.

Although Lizzie wasn't looking forward to telling Mace who his biological father really was, she wasn't just making up an excuse. She really did have a guest waiting for her in the hot tub, Bear Blackhawk.

"I've never had an Indian in my hot tub before", she told him.

"Hm." answered Bear.

They hit it off pretty well, since Lizzie talked all the time and Bear was a man of few words.

The next morning, Lizzie welcomed another stranger into her home. Yes, he was a little creepy looking, but she wouldn't hold it against him.

"I have a ticket for a place called Paradise just for you.", Death said in his deep voice.

"Oooooooo...Yes yes yes, give me the ticket! What should I pack? Does pink match with everything there?" Lizzie eagerly replied.

"Don't worry", Death answered, "I've already packed your things for you. The whole place is pink Lizzie. As our 100th satisfied customer, you get a free Mazal Tov Cocktail as well. Enjoy."

Lizzie took the drink, and passed on.

(Note from author: I have never seen a Sim actually happy to see the Grim Reaper come calling, but Lizzie was! Of course this is the girl that didn't notice the oven was on fire, or that her husband was dying right next to her either! Good ole Ditzy Lizzie, we'll miss you.)

So this left Mace with no answers as to who his father really is, and no way to get them. There is only one thing left to do.

"Hello, Urgent Care Decor? I just inherited my mother's house and it's all pink. How fast can you turn this powder puff palace into a bachelors pad?"

(Mace is a Romance sim with a LTW to Woohoo with 20 Different Sims. His brother Leif is also an adult and has moved out. He is a Pleasure sim with a LTW to be a Celebrity Chef. He's currently a Prep Cook.)

Coming soon: Mace's updated look & will Mace and his biological father reunite?

<- BABY TALK / A DAY IN THE LIFE OF LJ ->

Ch. 53 - Baby Talk

2006-04-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

BABY TALK

A Special Edition of the Strangetown Gazette

Strangetownians, be careful what you drink. There appears to be something in the water supply. There are bellies popping up and babies popping out left and right in this town! Let's review a few:

Alyson and Cooper Olshfski gave birth to a little girl, named Angela. Mother and baby are doing fine. The father is still recuperating. Little Angela has black hair and blue eyes.

(Alyson is the daughter of Hollywood Icon Amelia Howe).

Catherine and Brent Blackhawk have announced their pregnancy. The future Daddy sure does look happy at the news!

Catherine has taken a maternity leave from work but was quoted as saying "I can't wait to get back to beatin' up, *ahem*, I mean catching those no-good rotten criminals". The couple plans to continue to reside at the home of Billy & Sarah Blackhawk.

As much as we were shocked to hear that Roderick Ridgeway got married again so soon after the death of his wife, Kimberly, are any of us shocked to learn that she's pregnant? I doubt it.

Did anyone else notice how much she looks like his first wife, Kimberly? If we, here at the Gazette, didn't know better, we'd think this mad scientist had figured out a way to bring his dead wife back from the grave. Spooky. (Editors Disclaimer: At the time of publishing we did not notice the nekkid shot of Roderick in the background. Do not look at it. Thank you.)

Marie & Simon McAuley are expecting their first child together. Reports say that when Marie found out that the test was positive, she wasn't very happy. Something about how hard it is to take maternity leave from her job. How hard can it be to just stop robbing banks for a while?

Simon is the son of Sarah (Ridgeway McAuley) Blackhawk and the late Quinten McAuley. He is a Diamond Smuggler for the Linguisto Family.

And now for some breaking news from our roving reporter, Liza Jane:

Liza Jane here, on the streets of Strangetown answering your questions and getting the gossip that you want.

So, I was talking to Lilly the other day and...Hey Guys!! WRONG PICTURE!!

(Editors Disclaimer: Our apologies to Ms Lind, but we're keeping that picture in there. Good for ratings.)

Well, it is a cute picture of me. Back to the news at hand...

As I was saying, I was talking to Lilly and she told me that she had been over to see my Uncle Roderick again. Only this time she promises that it was just simple visit to a friend that had recently lost his wife. She consoled him a bit, then left.

I don't believe her.

I have one other piece of info for you too. I was walking past my Uncle Roderick's house the other day when my camera just happened to snap this shot through the window (darndest thing!):

Looks like my cousin Christopher is going to be a father...again. Did you all hear that he had a green alien baby? Good luck with her wardrobe! That child will never be able to wear anything purple! Ha! He's a real chip off the old block there, isn't he? They must have particularly tainted water in that house. Be forewarned ladies!

Liza Jane - out.
(End Liza Jane commentary)

Thank you Liza Jane Lind. So is that what they call it now - "talking"?

Wait wait, what's this? More breaking news! Two more babies have been born!

Catherine and Brent Blackhawk have just had their baby! Their daughter Sage was born at home under the watchful eye of the new father, grandpa Billy and the maid. Little Sage has her father's medium complexion, dark hair and green eyes.

Roderick has had another baby (anyone keeping count?). He and his new wife Aiyana have had a little girl who they named Annalise.

If we know these two, expect to see another one some time very soon.

*We're keeping count! Roderick's kids are:
Christopher - Catherine - Graham - Nicholas - Lily - Stuart - Ian - Todd - Bruce - Jeannie - Tia - Kayla - Layla - Brooke - Roy - Annalise. That's 16, and from the looks of it, # 17 is on the way with Lilly Brown. Whew! *

<- 4th GENERATION IS BORN / ALL ABOARD! ->

Ch. 52 - The 4th Generation is Born

2006-04-27T04:11:00.000-07:00

Christopher couldn't hide his secret any longer, and people were starting to remark on the fact that his stomach was getting bigger. Here's one conversation between Christopher and Bruce:

"Uncle Chris, you have a big belly", said little Bruce.

"Why do you keep calling me Uncle Chris? I'm your big brother." replied Christopher

"Well duh Uncle Chris, I know that", said Bruce, skipping away.

He hid his belly from his boss at work as long as he could, chalking his gut up to "one too many beers after work". Before long though, Christopher couldn't hide the fact that he was a pregnant man. He called work and took a leave of absence, stating that he needed to care for his ailing father (a little white lie wouldn't hurt, would it?). Thankfully, Willow was very accepting of whatever was growing in there. She tried to get her husband excited, but he was scared. He didn't know what he was going to give birth to. What if it was some flesh-eating alien, like in that movie? What if he was spawning the one alien that would end life on the planet? Willow told him it was probably his hormones making him so emotional, but Christopher knew his thoughts were completely rational.

Then one night Christopher jumped out of bed with the worst pains in his stomach.

"Ahhhh it's eating me up alive!" he yelled.

Roderick came running from the other room, but one look at his son calmed all of his fears.

"Oh calm down sissy boy. You're just in labor. Breathe." instructed Roderick.

Now, giving birth as a man isn't easy. They aren't as well *ahem* equipped as women are. The scar on Christophers stomach wasn't a scar at all - it was where he gave birth. He watched in horror as his stomach opened up like a camera lens, and right before his eyes, out popped a little baby.

"Hey. It's just a baby" stated Christopher "An aqua colored baby, but a baby."

Christopher took one look into his new babies eyes and realized that all his fears were indeed irrational. "You have my eyes. They're a bit bigger than mine, but they're definitely mine!" Christopher said to his new little daughter.

Welcome to the family Jupi Ridgeway.

<- CHRISTOPHER'S RECOVERY / BABY TALK ->

Ch. 51 - Christopher's Recovery

2006-04-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Christopher was trying to pick up with his life since his abduction. He had gotten a promotion as the Executive Chef at Parlez-vous Francais, a new French restaurant in town. He hadn't shown his father (or anyone else for that matter) the big scar on his stomach. He hadn't told him what they did to him while he was up there. He didn't want his father to think of him as a freak. Christopher was trying to forget what happened to him that night. However, that was proving more and more difficult.

Christopher wasn't feeling so well anymore, and he suspected that he knew why. He would be the laughing stock of the town once this news got out. Certainly that stupid rag, the Strangetown Gazette would get wind of this and when they did, well Christopher knew his life would never be the same again. Maybe he would have a normal looking baby and people would never know. Christopher made a mental note to say extra prayers that night.

However, this whole experience had been an eye-opener in a way for Christopher. Life is precious and delicate. His father was right. He very well may have never come back that night. He needed to live his life while he was still around to enjoy it. He made a few phone calls, then invited Willow over. Christopher paced while he eagerly waited for her arrival. Finally, the doorbell rang, and he went outside to greet her.

Christopher got down on one knee and proposed marriage to Willow. So what if she wasn't his "soul mate"? She was funny, cute, smart and darn it - he loved her. She is the one he was thinking of while he was up there being *shudder*... having that stuff done to him.

"Willow, I know that I'm not perfect and you may find that I'm a bit...umm...different, but I love you and I want to spend my life with you. I promise you that I will treat you like a Queen and I'll cherish you forever. I want to build a life with you - have kids with you - grow old with you".

Well how could a girl turn that down?

Willow let out a big gasp, then managed to whisper, "Christopher...". After gazing at her ring for a few moments, she was finally able to speak.

"Chrissie. Nobody has ever...I mean...people don't usually treat me like this. Nobody's ever wanted to marry me before. I love you Chrissie. Yes. YES! I'll marry you!"

Willow almost knocked him over when she hugged him. Christopher told her that there were a few things they needed to talk about before they got married, like the fact that he really didn't like being called Chrissie.

She just batted her eyelashes and said "But it's my pet name for you. Isn't it cute?". He was thinking "NO IT'S NOT", but said "Yes Sweetie, it is".

They sat down and he told her all about the abduction. He even showed her the scar on his stomach. He told her about his sickness and what he thinks is happening to him. Willow put her arm around Christopher and said "Baby, I said I love you. That means your outsides and your insides, no matter what they changed around in there...and no matter what else is in there".

Christopher knew then that he had made the right choice. Maybe he could have a normal life afterall.

To see Christopher and Willow's wedding album, CLICK HERE. (She cleans up really nicely!)

(Willow *aka the Slob* is a Popularity sim with a LTW to Become Mayor. She's a Libra: Sloppy 0, Outgoing 6, Lazy 0, Serious 4 and Grouchy 5)

<- CATHERINE & CHRISTOPHER / 4th GENERATION IS BORN ->

Ch. 50 - Catherine & Christopher

2006-04-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Roderick had been through a lot lately. He saved his wife from death, only to lose her again and had recently resurrected her, at the sacrifice of his maid. Drinking has become quite a hobby for Roderick, as he tries to drown his guilt in the bottom of his glass. True, he was very happy to be back with Kimberly again, but the guilt - oh the guilt!

The phone call couldn't have come at a better time. It was Catherine. She had called with an invitation for Roderick and her twin brother, Christopher to come to her wedding.

"But Baby Girl", Roderick declared "I still don't even know who you're marrying!"

"Don't worry Daddy. You'll absolutely love him!", said Catherine. "The wedding's at Aunt Sarah's. Don't be late!".

Roderick was indeed very happy with who Catherine married. To see her wedding album, CLICK HERE.

Christopher, on the other hand, hadn't had the same luck that his twin sister did with finding someone to settle down with. He had dated Willow Wilton a few times and found her very pleasant to be with, but she didn't seem like it to him. He wanted someone that knocked him off of his feet. So he called in the town Matchmaker. He knew, for the right money (which he had plenty of), that she could work her voodoo and he would have his soul mate by that evening.

Enter Jasmine Rai. Yowza, Christopher was very taken by her. They had a great time together, and seemed to hit it off very well. Christopher was looking forward to many more dates with Jasmine. The next day when he went to retreive her phone number, he realized that he had left it in his jeans pocket, and had thrown the jeans in the laundry. Her number was ruined. Jasmine tried to call him once, but he was at work and he never heard from her again.

Christopher looked high and low for Jasmine, but he couldn't find her. The Matchmaker was no help, since the form that Jasmine filled out had a fake address and phone number on it. He decided to lose himself in the stars, and went out to the balcony with his father for a little stargazing.

But this time wasn't all fun and games for Christopher. A bright light shone down on him from above. He looked up to the sky and said "God? Is that you?"

"NO" a booming voice said "BUT FEEL FREE TO PRAY TO YOUR GOD ALL YOU WISH"

Suddenly, Christopher felt something lifting him up in the air. He tried to hold on for dear life, but the force was too strong. Before he knew it, Christopher was in the sky looking down on the balcony and at his family.

"POP! POP! HELP ME!" he cried, "PLEASE POP! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

But Roderick couldn't help him. Nobody could. Christopher had been abducted.

A few hours later, Roderick looks up to the sky and sees a spaceship hovering over his house. He is relieved to see his son dropped out of the sky, and returned home.

"SON! You're safe!", says Roderick, rushing to his side.

"Pop! You won't believe what they did to me!" Christopher cries. "Pop they...they...they did the worst things to me. I can't even say."

Roderick hugs his son, and assures him that everything will be ok. He tells him that his whole family is here for him and that he'll never be alone.

"Pop you don't understand. I think they turned me into a freak. They said I wouldn't remember, but I do. I remember everything!"

Roderick brings Christopher inside and settles him in on the sofa. "I'm just glad you're home Boy. I didn't think I'd see you again". Roderick and Christopher sat together silently for the rest of the night.

<- RODERICK THE MAD SCIENTIST / CHRISTOPHER'S RECOVERY ->

Ch. 49 - Roderick, the Mad Scientist

2006-04-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

Roderick always missed his dear wife, Kimberly. He felt completely responsible for her attempted suicide, as well as for her death and he was determined to bring her back - one way or another.

Unfortunately, none of Roderick's "tinkerings" (as Kimberly used to call them) ever worked. He just couldn't get past the stage of re-animation. He could get a person's soul into the plant, and get the plant to come to life, but couldn't figure out how to get the person's soul back out of the plant and into a ...

Hey. Wait a minute.

Roderick had an idea. He just needed a willing vict...err...volunteer. He knew just where to get one.

He always thought Aiyana Dallas (the Amelia-ized maid) was particularly pretty. She was about the same build as Kimberly. Yes yes, she'd definitely work.

A little smooth talking & some big promises were all it took for Aiyana to agree to do whatever Roderick wanted her to do.

Aiyana had been in love with Roderick since she had first started working for him. She couldn't believe that THE Roderick Ridgeway was professing his love for her! Could she be dreaming? If she was, she never wanted to wake up!

Roderick had her come up to the attic and slip into a nightgown.

"Ooo Roderick. This is kinda kinky - getting it on in your lab. But...I don't see a bed anywhere. Not even anything soft. It's all cold concrete."

Roderick just touched her cheek and replied "Don't worry Dear. This won't hurt a bit".

Aiyana shrugged her shoulders and said "Well. OK, although I can't imagine my back won't be a little sore afterwards..."

"Hold very still, Dear", said Roderick.

"Hehe! Ok!", and Aiyana closed her eyes.

As Aiyana closed her eyes, Roderick threw the switch. The room was flooded with the most brilliant light that Roderick had ever seen.

Aiyana's body started to twitch and jerk. Roderick wasn't sure if it was working, but he kept the faith and continued the process, all the while praying to himself that this time, it would work. Finally, it was done. Aiyana's body stood still. When the smoke cleared, he was stunned at what he saw...

Kimberly was standing before him. It had worked! Kimberly was back! She was as beautiful as ever. Roderick couldn't believe his eyes. He had finally done it! Right down to her hair - there she was!

Maybe he was imagining this...maybe he was going crazy. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. She was still there. Holy Mama of the Llamas, she was back!

"Roddy? Where am I?" asked Kim

"Oh Heavens it's really you!" exclaimed Roderick.

They stood together for a minute just gazing at each other, touching each other, holding each other and kissing each other. It felt so good to be back together again. After they were done, there were only two things to do:

#1 : Get married again. This time under the name of Aiyana Dallas (since she can't very well tell anyone she's really Kimberly!)

#2: Well anyone that knows Roderick and Kimberly know what they're getting ready to do!

(Aiyana/Kimberly is a Family sim with a LTW to marry off 6 children. She is an Aquarius: Neat 6, Shy 2, Active 10, Serious 5 and Grouchy 2)

<- AS HEARD BY ELSIE MAY / CATHERINE & CHRISTOPHER ->

Ch. 48 - As Heard By Elsie May

2006-04-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, yer back! I'm guessin' that yer ready for another fixin' of some good ole fashioned town gossip then, aintcha? Well ya come to the right place, yes indeedy!

Didja heard about those Ridgeway twins, Christopher and Catherine? I know one of them is in luuuuvvvv, but I don't think she's told her daddy yet who he is. I reckon when he finds out, he's gonna be happier than a pig in mud! I seen that hunky Christopher out on the town with some slobby woman named Willow. Now don't that just beat all? He could have his picka women (yers truly included), and he goes n' dates a woman that cain't even git outta her dirty ole jammies! I'll be danged...

Speakin' of the Ridgeways, we cain always get some good gossip outta that crazy scientist feller's illegitimate kids, cain't we? Seems his eldest illegit gal, Tia, is a full blown teenager now. Ain't she just as cute as a sack 'a puppies? Well ole Roderick wanted to celebrate in a way that only a part-time Daddy cain, so he sent her a gift.

Don't that just git yer goat? He gave the gal a sports car! We all know she ain't gonna be concentratin' on no studyin' now, is she?

I seen the crazy scientist feller hisself over there once er twice at Lilly's beck n' call. He checks in on the kidlets, does her garden, fixes what's broke, and what not. He seems to be keepin' his distance mighty well. Course she's had herself a baby since this shot was taken, I hear. We'll be keepin' our eye on these two. Wonder if they'll get back to doin' the hokey-pokey now that his wife is dee-ceased? I cain tell ya I seen some strange lights comin' from his attic at all hours of the night. He's an odd feller, yes indeedy!

On to our next piece 'a info...

Well ain't that a dandy! How'd that picture git in here? Well it don't make no nevermind to me. Cain we have a moment of silence please?

God Bless that Brent Blackhawk.

Curses on those ed-ee-tors. Dang them all to heck.

I think I need me a bit of a break now. Cold shower or sumthin'.

Catch ya'll later, and remember what my Mama always says:

"Don't never drink hot coffee while yer laying in bed".
Words 'a wisdom Mama!

<- STRANGETOWN GAZETTE, VOL 2 / RODERICK THE MAD SCIENTIST ->

Ch. 47 - The Strangetown Gazette, Vol 2

2006-04-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

ALIENS RETURN!

The aliens have returned for a second time to the Lind Household, this time grabbing young Mace Lind. Mace, age 16, was an on-looker just 2 yrs before when his older brother, Leif, was also abducted by aliens.

Says an unidentified friend "We were sitting in the hot tub, and I got out to leave when suddenly Mace was drawn to the telescope. He wasn't there for 30 seconds when this beam came out of the sky and just pulled him right up! It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. His mom was a bit freaked out though".

Mace was returned later that night safe and with no apparent scars, alterations or alie-inseminations. His mother, Lizzie Lind, has become an activist against telescopes within city limits.

Advertisement:
(Note from Amelia: Our apologies for the fact that my stupid sister had to stick her face in the window during my photo shoot. Just ignore her.)
ASK LIZA JANE

Liza Jane here, on the streets of Strangetown answering your questions and getting the gossip that you want.

You wanted to know:

Dear LJ,
Just who is Lilly and where did she come from?
Signed, A Confused Yet Loyal Reader

Dear Con,
Let's go ask, shall we?

(LJ): So Lilly, our readers are confused and have questions. Only you have the answers. Just who are you anyway and where did you come from?

(Lilly): Umm, why are you in your underwear?

(LJ): Umm, why not? *winks*

(Lilly): Ok. Well I come from right here in Strangetown. I've lived here most of my life. My parents moved a while ago to some place called "New York City". I'm an only child and...

(LJ): I see. I don't think that helps though. They want to know who you are. Like, where did you come from in the story. How did you hook up with my Uncle (which I'll have a word with you about in private later Toots)?

(Lilly): Oh. Uh, sorry. Well, they've probably seen me roaming around in town. Oh, and I used to wear my hair very long and straight, but I get too hot so I pull it back into a ponytail now. As for Roddy...uh, I mean Roderick, well we worked together in the lab I think. No no, I'm a criminal so that's not right. Maybe I met him through a friend. Or maybe I met him at college. I don't know. I just opened my phone book one day looking for a man to have babies with and...well there he was!

(LJ): Interesting, and slightly warped. Anything else we should know about you?

(Lilly): Yes. If I'm in my blue undies, I'm without child. If I'm in my white ones, I'm pregnant. Sometimes you can't tell just by looking at my belly.

(LJ): Again, interesting yet warped. Have you figured out what causes that yet?

(Lilly): Huh?

Well that's all the time we have today readers. Hope that clears things up for you. Til next time Strangetownians...Liza Jane, signing out!

Advertisement:

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Obituary

Jessie Lind, also known as Captain Hero, died Sunday at his home in Strangetown of an apparent massive stroke. Surrounded by his family, is it reported that Jessie went peacefully and was in no pain. Although his children were by his side, his wife was apparently unaware of what was going on and was chatting on the computer at the time.Jessie was 66 yrs old. He leaves behind wife Lizzie (Ridgeway) Lind, daughter Liza Jane Lind, and sons Leif and Mace Lind. Jessie has been cremated and still resides at the family home.Gifts and donations can be made to the Save an Old Hero fund for retired Captain Heroes everywhere.
WELCOME TO THE CRIB & PLAYPEN SET

Lilly Brown gave birth to a healthy bouncing baby boy on Wednesday afternoon at 6:13 pm. The little boy, named Rob Roy Brown, weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and measured 20 inches long. Little Roy (as he will be called) was born with blonde hair and blue eyes.

<- CAN I CALL YOU MOM? / AS HEARD BY ELSIE MAY ->

Ch. 46 - Can I Call You Mom?

2006-04-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

(I'm afraid we've created a monster when we let Amelia do her own story on here, so please bear with us as we post this letter received by Amelia earlier today)

Dearest and Loyal Amelia Fans,

It's my duty to bring you the latest news on me - Amelia.

My Alyson has graduated college with, of course, a 4.0 GPA. She's now a tester or something in some laboratory. Why she'd want to get her hands all dirty like that instead of using her good looks on the big screen is beyond me, but she says she enjoys working there.

When she came home, I immediately knew something big was going on with her.

"Why Alyson, you're glowing. Look Matthew, isn't she glowing?", I said.
"Yes, Dear" he obediently replied.

That's when she told us that her fiance was out in the hot tub, waiting to meet us. Myrtle's never going to let me hear the end of this...about how she was right and I was wr...wr...wr...misinformed.

Here I thought I was walking out to meet some Knight in Shining Armor, by the way my Alyson described him. But it was really Cooper - MY Cooper!

Cooper was cheating on me, the cad!

I had to act fast, but quietly so my husband didn't hear, of course.

I gave it to him good, but in code since my Alyson was standing right there. I told him that I had heard of his reputation, that he was a cheater. He had no business being with a girl like my Alyson. She was simply too good for him. Do you believe that cad just shrugged his shoulders, said "Whatever", and got back in the hot tub?

My Alyson had more balls than that Cooper Cad did. She said "Please Mommy. I love Cooper and he loves me. I don't know what you have against him, but whatever you heard isn't true. He's very good to me and he would never cheat on me. Please Mommy, give him a chance."

Well who am I to deny my Alyson. She'll learn the hard way I suppose, and when she does...well Mommy will always be here for her.

Since then, they've gotten mar...mar...mar...hitched. My Alyson actually told him to call me Mom, but luckily he still calls me Amelia. They bought a house right down the street from us which is great because I can pop over there whenever I feel like it. Sometimes I go over in the middle of the night to knock over their trash can (shhhhh) or to borrow their newspaper. My Alyson told me that she met Lilly and recognized her from the Strangetown Gazette. Luckily this time, she was fully clothed. She said "Oh I know you. You're the one having all my Uncle Roddy's babies". I was so proud of her.

Speaking of babies...

Uggggghhhhhh...
He's spawning a kid. At least I was smart enough to not get pregnant by Cooper the Cad.

Wait. This means I'm going to be a Gra...Gra...Gra...Secondary Parental Unit.

So that's it. Questions anyone?

Author asks: Are you and your brother Roderick on speaking terms once again Amelia?
Amelia: No. And I don't plan to be anytime soon. Although I was sorry to hear about the death of Kimberly. But don't worry, I sent flowers.
Author asks: How is your shop doing?
Amelia: Very well, thank you for asking! Look for my ad in the next edition of the Strangetown Gazette. If you don't mind me asking, who did your hair? I could fix that right up. And those dark circles under your eyes...I could get rid of them. Oh those gray hairs...that could be a thing of the past too. And those awful..
Author angrily states: OK AMELIA! I get the idea. Thank you...I think.
Amelia: You're very welcome Dear.

<- KIMBERLY'S LAST GIFT / STRANGETOWN GAZETTE VOL 2 ->

Ch. 45 - Kimberly's Last Gift

2006-04-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

Kimberly's death has been hard on the whole family. Roderick brought the boys - Bruce, Todd and Ian - to a grief counselor, who suggested that they take up painting as a way of expressing their sadness and anger. Roderick quickly invested in enough paint, brushes and canvasses to last a lifetime.

Ian's first painting was of an angel flying into a brilliant white light. Todd's first painting was of a child sitting alone in the darkness. Bruce's first painting was of a house with a Mommy, Daddy and a child playing in the yard. Roderick photographed them, and sent the images to the counselor who said that they should keep their eyes on Todd & Bruce.

Later, Roderick took the boys out to the workout room for a little time on the punching bags, thinking this would help them get their aggressions out more. When Roderick stepped out of the room, Bruce asked his older brother "Why did Mommy Kim have to go? How come our parents always leave us?""

Todd replied "I dunno, but I'll never leave you Brucie. That's a promise."

Roderick needed to go see Kimberly, and left the boys to work on the punching bags. To his surprise, his eldest son and heir to his estate, Christopher, was standing over his mother's grave, crying.

As much as it broke his heart to see his son cry, Roderick was happy to have his boy home again. Welcome home Christopher.

The two went inside, sat down over some Berry Pie that Roderick had bought at his sister Amelia's store, and got all caught up on what's been going on with Christopher and his siblings. He told his father that college went well, and he graduated with honors, which made his father very proud. He also informed him that he was a member at the Greek House that Roderick had founded. A lot had changed since Roderick went there. The mystery of Prof Ivy's death had, of course, been solved, but what Roderick didn't know was that the authorities finally discovered her body buried under a tree in the backyard. She was exhumed and given a proper burial in the local cemetary. Roderick asked how Catherine was doing, and Christopher informed him that she also was a member of ABK and had graduated, but with a 3.8 GPA (a little too many late nights, no doubt). He tells his father that Catherine is in love, but he's going to let her tell their dad who the lucky man is. "Not to worry though Pop", Christopher says "You'll be really happy when she tells you". The idea of a wedding is like music to Roderick's ears. This house definitely needs some happiness.

Just then the doorbell rings. Roderick is astonished to see a little girl standing there with the Social Worker. "Congratulations Mr Ridgeway", she says.

Roderick is speechless. He had no idea that Kimberly had put in for another adoption. As he fights back the tears of joy, he hugs her tightly and welcomes her to the family.

He then whispers to himself "Thank you Kimberly".

(Jeannie is an Aries: Sloppy 5, Outgoing 8, Active 6, Serious 3, Grouchy 3)

(Christpher graduated from Academie Le Tour with a 4.0 GPA & a Philosophy degree. He was a member of Alpha Beta Kappa).

<- QUINTEN'S REVENGE / CAN I CALL YOU MOM? ->

Ch. 44 - Quinten's Revenge

2006-04-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

The next day was a quiet one at Ridgeway Estates.

Layla came over to see her Daddy. They spent the day together bowling, playing tag and telling each other jokes. The benefit to having his affair out in the open was that his house is now open to his "Brown Kids".

Later that day, Roderick and Kimberly waved goodbye as Lily and Stuart (now a teen) went off to college.

(Stuart is a Knowledge teen)

That night, Roderick and Kimberly went over to the Blackhawks house to visit with Sarah and Billy. Billy asked how it was going with the ghosts, and they happily reported that all was quiet. For once, Billy hoped that he had gotten a message wrong.

The night remained quiet and everyone got a good night's sleep. Roderick was just getting ready to go to bed, when he heard a noise in the living room, which meant that Kimberly was up. Eager to see her, he rushed off to give her a good morning kiss.

But Kimberly wasn't who he noticed first. What was he doing there?

That's when Roderick saw her. Kimberly was curled up on the floor, looking like she had just been electrocuted. Roderick ran to her side, and was ready to beg Death to, once again, spare his wife's life when Death stopped him in his tracks.

"Sorry Buddy", he said "She's on the list. Gotta take 'er".

Roderick stood helplessly as he watched Death claim his wife.

Ian walked in just as Kimberly was headed toward the light.

"Mommy? What happened to your clothes? Where are you going?"

In a flash, Kimberly was gone. Only her lifeless body was left behind. Roderick held her and begged somebody - anybody to please bring his wife back, but it didn't do any good. This time, Kimberly was gone.

Finally, Roderick stood up to give Ian a hug. "Don't worry Daddy. I'll stay with you. You should have seen the light that Mommy went to. It was beautiful!"

After getting the kids settled in and taking care of Kimberly's remains, it all started to sink in for Roderick.

"What have I done?"

"What will the kids do without their mother?"

"What will I do without Kimberly?"

Then it hit him. It's about time he lived up to his good reputation as a Mad Scientist and perfected his Ressurect-A-Dead-Guy (or in this case, Gal) technique.

He put on his Mad Scientist uniform (a must for any truly Mad Scientist), revved up the Ressurect-A-Dead-Guy (RADG) machine, and got down to work.

Roderick tried and tried again, but none of the ferns were showing any signs of animated life.

Roderick finally admitted to himself that his RADG machine just didn't work. He would have to move on to something else.

Would this next experiment work? Would he bring Kimberly back?

<- WHO YA GONNA CALL? / KIMBERLY'S LAST GIFT ->

Ch. 43 - Who Ya Gonna Call?

2006-04-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Roderick needed to make everything up to Kimberly, and he knew just how to do it. He needed to get rid of Quinten's ghost.

He went out to the graveyard and called out Quinten. He told him that he was done with the hauntings and wouldn't put up with Quinten scaring his wife even one more time. He was going to stop him once and for all.

"Yeah right", said an eerie voice "Like you could do anything to me, ya Old Fart".

Never dare a Mad Scientist to prove that he could harm you...even if you're already dead.

Roderick ran up to the attic and got out his new Ghost-B-Gone kit that he had ordered on the internet. He had that sucker together in no time.

Unfortunately, the instructions were in Aramaic, a language that Roderick was a little rusty on. He inadvertantly criss-crossed the red & green wires, which is a big no-no with Ghost-B-Goners.

His machine knocked the power out of the entire grid. It also sent a bolt of lightening down to the ground, hitting Quinten where he was floating around. Quinten vanished.

Roderick couldn't wait to share the good news with Kimberly. He ran downstairs, where he found her standing in the dark fiddling with the breakers. One look at Roderick's face and she knew that all the fiddling in the world wouldn't bring the power back on again.

Roderick tenderly touched Kimberly's cheek and simply said "Everything is taken care of".

Now, being the wife of a Mad Scientist can be tricky. When your husband comes down from his laboratory after a big lightening bolt hits the ground, knocking the power out of the entire grid...well, you simply ask no questions. Kimberly just smiled, and said "Thank you Honey".

But Kimberly was no fool. She knew that there was a good probability that he meant one of two things. Either he had just vaporized Lilly (which would be nice, but was doubtful) or he had just vaporized Quinten's ghost (which she's not sure could really be done). She also knew that there was a good chance that it really hadn't been "taken care of" at all. So Kimberly took matters into her own hands and called Billy Blackhawk over to the house, who was more than happy to help and came right over.

Billy laughed when Kimberly said that she was tired of the ghosts making her "go Eeeek!" (as she put it) and scaring her children. She told him about Graham's comments that Quinten was out for revenge. Billy understood the seriousness of this matter, and asked to see his burial site immediately.

Kimberly was amazed at how quickly Billy could throw himself into a trance. She watched as he seemed to have a conversation with himself, knowing that he was really contacting who she hoped to be Quinten on the other side.

Finally Billy snapped out of it, and started relaying messages to Kimberly.

"Well", he said. "They like what you've done with the flowers."

"Yippee", Kimberly retorted. "Think we could get down to something a bit more ... important?"

But before Billy could tell her anything else, something draws him into the graveyard. Upon stepping inside the yard, he is instantly aware of a presence.

"Yes Quinten, I see you", says Billy softly "and I hear you loud and clear".

"Hey, how is it that you never seem to age?" Billy looks up and sees Roderick standing next to him. "Old Navajo secret", he answers "What are you doing out here in your long-john's Roderick?"

Roderick informs Billy that there is no need for any of his ghost-hunting mumbo jumbo. Roderick had single handedly blown Quinten's ghost up. Problem solved.

"Oh, so you're the one that knocked the power off during C.S.I." says Billy, tapping his foot.

Roderick shifted on his feet slightly and said "Ummm ... maybe?"

Billy then goes into detail about why - given that a spirit is not made of solid mass - you simply cannot blow up a ghost.

Really Roderick. That's entry level Mad Scientist stuff.

He's further shocked to learn that he's managed to make Quinten even more mad, now that he's realized that Roderick and Kimberly will stop at nothing to get rid of him.

Suddenly Billy stops in his tracks. Quinten is sending another message. Billy runs out of the graveyard, eager to get back to Kimberly.

He catches Kimberly just as she was headed inside. He warns her things have changed since Graham heard Quinten talk to him. It's not Kimberly's family he's after anymore ... it's Kimberly! He explains to her that they don't like it when someone crosses over, then comes back and they've told Quinten that it's up to him to deliver her back to the other side again. He begs her to let Bear stay at the house with them, but she refuses.

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts", she says.

(Hey, I couldn't resist using that line)

Billy tries to warn her again, but Kimberly cut him off. Ghosts, she explains, do not scare her anymore. She's had a taste of what they can do, and if all they can do is make her pee her pants and fall asleep for a while, then she's not worried. She thanked Billy for his time, turned and went back into the house.

Billy urged Roderick to check all the electrical appliances in the house, as well as all the plugs and outlets. When Roderick asked him why, Billy said "it's just a bad feeling I have. Watch over her closely."

<- NO KIM, NO! / QUINTEN'S REVENGE ->

Ch. 42 - No Kim, No!

2006-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Kimberly wasn't thinking clearly and was blaming herself for Roderick's mistake. Images of Roderick packing his stuff up and moving out - of leaving her for a much younger woman - were running through her head. She suddenly saw herself old, sad and alone. Distraught and emotional, Kimberly picks up the "Tox-Ick Ton-Ick" that Roderick had been working on, and drank the whole thing.

It started working immediately. The effects were horrible at fast, but did their job quickly and efficiently. Kimberly took one last gasp of breath, and dropped to the floor. As the room faded around her, she heard her last sounds of life - the sound of Roderick's footsteps running up the steps ... the sound of his voice calling "Kimberly?! KIMBERLY?!" Kimberly managed to whisper one last "I love you Roddy" before the room went black and Kimberly faded away.

Roderick got upstairs just in time to see Kimberly's lifeless body drop to the floor. He immediately rushed to her side and tried to revive her, but his efforts failed. That's when he noticed the Tox-Ic Ton-Ick cup next to her. "Oh Kimberly", he cried, "What have you done?"

That's when he first saw him...Death himself. Roderick begged and pleaded with everything he had for Death to bring his wife back to him. "Please Death, take me instead! I'm the one that screwed up! Kim's never done a mean thing in her whole life. She doesn't deserve this!". But Death refused. He can't take people who aren't on the list, and Roderick wasn't on the list. However, Death is a family man himself and can understand Roderick's cries for help. He has an idea.

"Pick a hand", orders Death.

"You've got to be kidding me", says Roderick. The life of his precious wife is hanging in the balance and Death wants to play games?!

"Pick or I take her with me and you lose your one chance", Death insists.

Roderick holds his breath, and picks Death's right hand.

Death stands still for a moment, then slowly opens both hands, only to reveal that Roderick picked...

...the correct hand.

"Drat", says Death. "I guess you get to keep her for a little while longer".

Roderick is estatic. He jumps for joy and yells "HA! Never mess with a SCIENTIST baby!".

As Roderick watches in amazement, Kimberly's lifeless body is lifted off the ground. She takes a big gasp of breath as life flows back into her body.

"Wha...wha..what happened?" she asks.

"You died. Your smart-alek husband saved you. Yadda yadda yadda.", replies Death. "I'm leaving before you two start hugging or something as equally repulsive".

"YES!" she exclaimed "Never mess with a scientist!"

In a puff of smoke, Death was gone.

Kimberly turned to look at Roderick. She noticed a tear streaming down his cheek. In all the years she'd been with him, she's never see him cry before. As she reached out to wipe the tear off of his cheek, he stopped her. He told her what he'd done with Lilly, about their 4 daughters, and how sorry he was that he had hurt her so deeply.

"Somewhere", he admits "I just got off track. I lost my focus and I let my desires speak louder than my morals. I got selfish and I told myself that it meant nothing, but I see now that it meant the world between you and I. Kimmy, I loved you from the moment that I saw you in that clothing store, and I have never stopped falling in love with you. I can promise you that I will never hurt you again. I'll also understand if you can't forgive me."

Now, before Kimberly had seen the after-life, she may not have forgiven Roderick. But things were different now. In the short time she was on the other side, she had gotten a sense of what it was all about. Charity. Love. Compassion. Forgiveness.

She looked deep in his eyes and saw everything there she needed to see. She saw a man deeply in love with his wife who made a grave mistake that he now regretted. Of course she forgave him. She had to add one more thing though...

"If you even think of doing it again, I'll strip you of your manhood in one clean *swissssh*".

*Gulp* Loud and clear Kimberly.

A realization then hit Roderick. He had made "plans" for that night, that he now clearly had to cancel. He picked up his phone and called Lilly. He told her the whole story, about Kimberly finding out - about her death and resurrection - about how precious she is to him and about how she's forgiven him. He tells Lilly that the affair is off, and that although he'll be an active father to their daughters, he can no longer be her lover. There will be no more children from him.

"Well Rod", states Lilly, "Too late for that. Did I forget to tell you?"
"Tell me what?, asks Roderick.

After hanging up with Lilly, he tries to think of a delicate way to tell his wife that his ex-lover is expecting baby #5 from him. He also comes up with a plan to make things right with Kimberly.

<- THE TRUTH HURTS / WHO YA GONNA CALL? ->

Ch. 41 - The Truth Hurts

2006-04-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

(Authors note: FYI - Being a Mad Scientist, Roderick works all night and sleeps during the day)

Kimberly was very happy with Roderick, but something was nagging at her. The morning after Kimberly was so ruthlessly attacked by the ghost of her deceased father-in-law Jebidiah, Roderick had found her passed out in the grass by the graveyard. It was what he said to her that was bothering her... "You've been out here all night". If she had been out there all night, why did he wait until the morning to get her? Surely if he had known she was out there, he wouldn't have waited until morning to help her, would he? Then a thought struck her. Maybe Roderick didn't know she was out there because Roderick wasn't home. It was his night off and he should have been home. If he were home though, he certainly would have noticed that Kimberly wasn't in her bed and he would have gone looking for her. Kimberly had never been the type of woman to take anything lying down, and she went looking for answers...answers that she knew one person in particular would have.

Amelia was eager to talk to Kimberly, but wasn't sure how much she should tell her about what Roderick had done.

Oh what the heck. She'd tell it all.

And she did. Every last detail of it. She told how Lilly Brown had been lucky enough to be Amelia-ized as one of her 50 Dream Date recipients. Once you've been Amelia-ized, she told Kimberly, there is no going back. Roderick made the mistake of moving into Amelia's territory and started seeing Lilly on the side. Four girls later, they're still having a little "fling". "Why Kimberly, he's gotten her pregnant almost as many times as he got you pregnant!".

Kimberly had heard enough. She yelled at Amelia that there were bigger things at stake here than her precious ego, and ran home. She walked in the house & past Roderick without saying a word, and went to bed for the rest of the day.

It was a restless night for Kimberly. How could she be so blind? She would have never guessed that her dear Roddy would be cheating on her.

Kimberly started thinking about what she could have done differently over the years. Maybe if she had kept her figure...maybe if she had spent more time with Roderick...maybe if she could have given him more children...

Kimberly was completely distraught and could only think of one thing to do. She looked up to the sky and said "God, please forgive me for what I'm about to do".

<- LEAVING THE NEST / NO KIM, NO! ->

Ch. 40 - Leaving the Nest

2006-04-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

(I know you very well may be getting sick of hearing about Roderick's family, but I played with them for a few straight Sims-days and then realized that meant I had to do a LOT of updating! This one's going to be short, sweet and to the point.)

Graham, who is a Romance teen, couldn't keep his eyes off of the family's maid, Aiyana Dallas (Recognize her? She's been Amelia-ized). Just as Graham thought he could slip her some cash for a little...well...let's say he was buying a little entertainment, his father walked in. It was not a pretty picture and we here at the Ridgeway Legacy Family Blog Services have decided not to air those images due to the fact that they are just plain upsetting and could cause nightmares to even the toughest viewer.

Instead, Graham was shipped off to college. Well of course he had a choice, but it was either live for free at college for 4 years, or get kicked out on his bumm without a penny to his name. Graham chose college. Plus, he could easily get any piece of a...errr...that is, he could get a date easily at college. Yeah. Dates.

Nicholas was right behind him. He promised his parents that he'd keep an eye on Graham and try to keep his attention focused on his studies. He left so quickly that he didn't realize he was heading off in his pajamas - or maybe he didn't care.

(Nicholas is a Knowledge teen with a LTW to be Chief of Staff)

Since then:

Bruce is a toddler.
*Bruce is a Sagittarius, sloppy (5), shy (5), active (10), playful (8), nice (6)*

Lily is a teen
*Lily is a Popularity teen*

Ian is a boy
*Ian is a Aries, sloppy (4), outgoing (9), active (7), serious (4), nice (9)*

<- KIMBERLY TAKES ON A GHOST / THE TRUTH HURTS ->

Photo Album: The Big Birthday Party

2006-04-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Lily thought the party needed the bubble touch.

Nobody could resist the all mightly Smustle! Actually, it seems that Catherine could resist it, couldn't she?

It's time for cake! Nicholas goes first.

We all cheered Nicholas on as he grew up into a teenager.
(Left to Right): Roderick, Amelia, me (Kimberly), Nicholas (in center), Lily (see her jumping in the air?), Christopher, Sarah, Billy, Stuart, Catherine

It's Ian's turn! Everybody cheers Ian on:
(Left to Right): Graham (looking the other way), Christopher (behind Graham), Sarah & Billy (mixed?!), Lily, Catherine and Nicholas

Ian grows up into a toddler with a little help from big brother Nicholas.

Roddy and I were outside blowing out our own candles.
Roddy went first. I wonder what his wish was?

(the lame photographer we hired didn't get a shot of Roddy when he grew old, but you'll see him in the other shots).

Then it was my turn (see Roddy in the background? He's even cute as an old man!). I wished that...oh wait, if I tell you then it won't come true! Oopsie daisies!

Oops! I think I ate too much sugar. I'm feeling kinda funky...

Oh poo. I don't mind the age thing, but I would have loved to keep my cute figure and my cute outfit. Now I'll just have to go shopping, darn it.

<-- BACK TO KIMBERLY'S DIARY (Kimberly Takes on a Ghost)

Ch. 39 - Kimberly Takes on a Ghost

2006-04-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

(Excerpts from the diary of Kimberly Ridgeway)

Dear Diary,
Today is Stuart's birthday. I can't believe how fast my babies are all growing up! It seems like just yesterday that I had both Stuart and Ian, and now look at them. Stuart is baking his own food and very soon Ian will be toddling all over the place. Today is also a big day for another reason.

Today we get our two new boys! They're brothers from out of state. From what I understand, their parents actually abandoned them both. How could ever abandon a sweet child? The babies name is Bruce and the young boy is named Todd. I'll write more when they get here!

Dear Diary,
Lookie who's finally arrived! This is little Bruce sitting in the car waiting for the Social Worker to bring him in to us. Yeah! This is so exciting! I'll write more in a bit after I get my hands on my new boys!

Dear Diary,
Well they only dropped off Bruce today. The Social Worker (who was very rude, if you ask me) said that there was some clerical error and that Todd wouldn't be arriving for two more days. TWO WHOLE DAYS?! I am so mad...I raised quite a ruckus, but it did no good. I even came close to swearing. Yes, I was that mad. Roddy told me not to worry, that our Todd would be here soon enough and that it'll all be ok. He's so loving and patient with me...I'm so lucky.

Dear Diary,
These darn ghosts! They're everywhere and they just won't leave us alone! I'm getting really tired of it. That Quinten just doesn't know what he's in for now that I know he wants revenge. I know I can stop him somehow. Last night they got Roddy twice - first that troublesome Quinten, and then Roddy's own father Jebidiah. Later last night Quinten jumped out of the shower just as I was getting ready to climb in and stuck his tongue out at me. He even said something this time. He said "You can't stop me. Neener Neener". What a little turd! He has no idea who he's messing with. For now though, I have a big party to get ready for so Quinten will have to wait.

Dear Diary,
Today is the day of the big birthday party. We're celebrating four birthdays. Ian is growing up into a toddler, Nicholas is going to be a teenager, and Roddy and I are turning into Elders. Of course, this is the day that the kids just have to act up and start jumping around like baboons. I did hear Lily telling them to stop and that they were going to get hurt. That's my Lily - the little mother of the house. The guests will be here any minute. We've invited Christopher and Catherine, Sarah & Billy, Amelia (I wonder if she'll come?), and our nephew Mace.

I hear fussing. I'd better go check on Ian and Bruce.

Dear Diary,
The party was great! You can see all the party pictures here.

Dear Diary,
Todd arrived today! We're so happy. He's a wonderful little boy. We're having a lot of fun getting to know him. So far we've learned that he's a Sagittarius, a little sloppy (2), a bit shy (3), very active (9), pretty playful (7) and a touch grouchy (4), but given the circumstances, that can be expected. I think I'll take him for a haircut.

Dear Diary,
It's been a few days since I've written in my diary. That's because I did something pretty stupid, and I've been trying to recuperate from the effects of it.

I challenged the ghosts. Yes I did - little me, Kimberly Ridgeway, challenged the ghosts to give me all they had. Boy oh boy, did they ever.

It all started when Jebidiah jumped out and scared my little Lily to tears. I had simply had enough of these grumpy ghosts scaring my children. I have no idea if my deceased in-laws are in on Quinten's plot for revenge or not. So I took matters into my own hands, before they took someone of mine into their hands (do ghosts have hands?).

I walked right outside to the graveyard, and yelled out in the air "COME ON YOU MEAN OLD GHOSTS! WHY DON'T YOU PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE?". I was hoping to get Quinten riled up, but instead I seem to have ticked Jebidiah off, which is not a good thing. He got me three times in a row. I was so scared, I umm...well...I soiled myself. Just after that, I started feeling funny and the whole yard started spinning. Then everything went black.

Roddy found me the next morning. He said I had been out there all night. I couldn't even remember where I was at first ... or why ... but it all came back to me. I feel like such a failure. I can't even protect my children from some old dead people!

Roddy (being the sweet husband that he is) was so good to me, of course. He told me that I was so brave to come out and confront the ghosts, all for the sake of my children. I think any mother would do the same, but he said not all mothers would. He helped me inside, helped me clean up (I must have smelled horribly!), and put me to bed. I believe I slept a solid 24 hours.

It's clearly time to call the Blackhawks.

<- JUST HOW MANY? / LEAVING THE NEST ->

Ch. 38 - So Just How Many Again?

2006-04-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

The question is out there - just how many babies does Lilly Brown have? Here's her quick timeline and where she is now:

Lilly does the RumbleTumble with a certain married man. They forgot one little thing, which led to another little thing.

Before long, the little thing got bigger and Lilly couldn't deny that she had a lover anymore.

It wasn't long before little Tia was born.

The affair continued. Oh crap, Lilly please say you remembered to take your pill.

Tia grows to a toddler. She definitely has her Mommy's chiseled nose.

A few months later, Lilly gets a surprise - twins Kayla & Layla. She calls her lover and informs him. He was definitely shocked.

Tia is a very clean little girl. Her mother calls her "Bubble Butt", even though Tia doesn't think that's very funny. The twins are now toddlers (no pic attached).

One night at dinner, Tia pops the question. "Mommy, can Daddy spend the night?"

Looks like he did.

A few months down the road, little Brooke is born. This makes baby #4 for these two. Is there an end in sight?

<- AMELIA SPEAKS OUT / KIMBERLY TAKES ON A GHOST ->

Ch. 37 - Amelia Speaks Out

2006-04-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

We recently received this email from a disgruntled reader:
"HEY! Why are you spending so much time on Roderick and his family, and overlooking an ICON such as myself? How about some equal-opportunity blog time here Sistah?"

Our apologies to Amelia and her family for overlooking them in recent posts. On the phone now is Ms Amelia Howe herself. The floor is yours, Ms. Amelia.

Well it's about time. Why, I never...

First let me assure you all that the images you saw of me in the City Enquirer were completely false. I've never had a bit of plastic surgery done to my face. I'm naturally this beautiful. It's a gift and a curse.

You may have also heard that I've retired from show business. Although it is true that officially I have retired, you have my permission to continue to adore me and my legacy. You can now buy "Gone With the Hurricane" on DVD to add to your collection of Amelia movies.

Of course I had to figure out what to do with my time. I took up Championship Bench Jumping, but that got a bit boring. I am the best out there, and there's just no arguing that point at all.

So then I joined Matthew in his favorite hobby, painting. Well I simply out-painted him and that's just not fair to poor Matthew. Not to mention, my paintings sell for more just based on the fact that I am an Icon. Everyone wanted an Amelia Original. The demand just got too intense, so I told Matthew that he could have his studio back to himself. He mumbled something that sounded like "It's about time", but I'm sure that's not what he really said of course.

So as I was sitting downstairs thinking about what I was going to do with my time next, I got a phone call. It was Myrtle from my Bingo club. Myrtle has a daughter who dates the guy that fills up the vending machines at the Academie La Tour, where my Alyson is a student. He said that he knows a fellow that has a cousin who knew a girl that used to be in the same class as Alyson and that she heard Alyson talking about getting married to some guy. I told Myrtle that it is highly impossible that my Alyson would be engaged and not immediately call her Mommy to tell her all about it. I mean honestly - with all her studying, who has time for boys anyway?

Then the idea hit me - I should open a store! Who wouldn't want to buy things from the Amelia?

It was going pretty well, except for the cash register part of it. Some customers are so bossy and impatient. I couldn't believe the way this one girl talked to me - I mean, me - AMELIA!

I ended up having to close that store, but I opened another one more in tune with my special talents.

Now I own Beauty By Amelia and I give makeovers, beauty tips and other special services to people. Now everyone can look like a movie star. As you can see, I have very satisfied customers. We also sell some very unique items for your home - only the finest things that a movie star (such as myself) would own in their personal homes and movie trailers.

Oh, and Matthew is doing well. He still works, paints, stargazes, and has taken up pie baking (which I also sell at my store, but only because if I don't he'll pull the financing on the place).

Well. That's it for me. Questions anyone?

(Author asks): Ms Amelia, what about the rumor that you and your brother Roderick aren't getting along? Any truth to that rumor?
(Amelia): Of course I'm not getting along with that little squirt. If you want to know why, ask him. Just remember this - once you've been Amelia-ized, there is no going back!

(Author asks): Ms Amelia, did you ever achieve the goal to have 50 Dream Dates? If so, who were your 50 dates?
(Amelia): Oh why yes, I did! Here they are, along with how many Dream Dates I had with them.

Cooper Olshfski (he was a very Romantic guy) = 10
Matthew Howe (my future husband) = 14
Sinjin Wren (a mascot from college) = 2
Jace Charvat (lazy and broke, but a fun guy nonetheless) = 3
Adam Corsillo (a student at college with a mohawk) = 5
Bill Rauscher (another Romantic) = 3
Forrest Landchild (this guy was loaded!) = 6
Margaret (I was getting desperate & she was in my hot tub) = 2
Lilly Brown (uh huh) = 1
Aiyana Dallas (the maid, woo baby!) = 4
Dominic Stratton (he was there, I was there...) = 1

Hey that equals 51, doesn't it? Hot dog, I'm good!

(Author asks): Ummm, yes that's impressive. Congratulations Ms. Amelia. That's all the questions we have for now.
(Amelia): Why thank you! It's so nice to be appreciated. I'll answer any questions you have of course. Don't be a stranger. You don't always have to write about that little rugrat, Roderick. He's not really "all that", you know. You know, I have lots of Amelia stories to tell. Why there was this one time when I was filming on location for "To Mock a Mockingbird" and ...

(Author hangs up)

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming...

<- AS HEARD BY ELSIE MAY / JUST HOW MANY? ->

Ch. 36 - As Heard By Elsie May

2006-04-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

Well stuff my ears with jam and tie me to an anthill - lookit who we have here! Good to see ya'll again!

I know ya'll have been itchin' to hear more of my learnin's from this here town, so let me getcha all caught up on everything I've heard so far.

The biggest goss...err...news in Strangetown is the case of Lilly Brown and her mystery man. Just who is she seeing anyway? I'll tell ya, I asked Lilly and she just wouldn't say. So I took a look-see at her mail, and well - it was all bills. I even took a little peek in her trash, but there wasn't nothin' in there neither, 'cept that dee-licious container of Spam. That's real gore-may food there. Yes indeedy!

I went n' called out the big guns...Liza Jane Lind. This girl's been diggin' into other people's business since Huck was a pup (and he's a full grown dog now). Take 'er away Liza Jane!

Thanks Elsie May! Love the shirt by the way.

I managed to get inside of Lilly Brown's house, and planted some of those little spy cameras around. See? Reality shows can be a real learning experience afterall. The only problem was - well I was caught and had to think fast. I told her that I wanted one of her famous makeovers. I think she fell for it, although she kept looking at me funny.

I really only meant for her to do my makeup, but then she started cutting off my *gasp* hair! It was horrible, but it kept her talking. Unfortunately nothing she said gave me the name of the married man that she's dating. BUT...

I got some good camera footage, including a shot of the married man himself! Take a look:

Ok, so all you see are his feet, but now we know who's feet to look for!

Seems like somebody forgot to use protection again. Sorry I couldn't get more for you. Back to you Elsie May!

*end commentary by Liza Jane*

Thanks for the ree-port Liza Jane. Love yer hair. Maybe I should get mine fixed up all purdy like that, whatcha think? Nah.

Ya know, those look like my Mama's feet. But it cain't be my Mama cause she just had her feet waxed n' all.

Well let's just start listin' all the married men in town. There's Jessie Lind - oops, that's yer Daddy ain't it, Liza Jane. Sorry. Cain't be him. Then there's Matthew Howe. Ain't he a bit old though? Then there's that crazy scientist feller, but he's madly in love with his wife (I cain tell cuz she's been pregnant for the past 20 years), then there's that Blair guy who likes gettin' women pregnant from what I hear. Then there's...

ELSIE MAY! ELSIE MAY! It's Liza Jane here! Sorry to break in like this but...well I just got the BEST picture of Lilly and her married man! I was strolling past her house and just happened to peek through her window with my camera, and I got a shot of him!

Here, take a look! Of course that stupid curtain is in the way, but you can kind of make out his...

...hey...

...wait a minute...

...that guy looks a lot like my Unc...

*GASP*!!!!

Umm...Liza Jane, out.

*Back to Elsie May*
Well, don't that just flip yer skirt? Guess that's all we're gonna git from Miss Liza Jane today. Til next time ya'll, and remember what Mama says...

"Don't go chewin' on tinfoil, less'en you like that feelin'."
(ain't she smart?!)

<- DOCTORS ORDERS / AMELIA SPEAKS OUT ->

Ch. 35 - Dr's Orders

2006-04-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is a little story about my (7 Greats) Grandmother, Kimberly Ridgeway. You probably know that she and my (7 Greats) Grandfather, Roderick Ridgeway had dreams of having a large family. Actually it's not so much about how they got their large family, but how they almost didn't.

Kimberly loved being pregnant and loved having babies. She wanted nothing more in the world than to keep sharing the joys of parenthood with Roderick. They already had 6 of the 10 children that they dreamed of having: Twins Christopher and Catherine, Graham, Nicholas, Lily, and Stuart. Just after having little Stuart, Kimberly discovered that she was pregnant again. Although they were naturally happy at the news, Roderick was a little worried this time. Kimberly wasn't her same "glowing" self during her pregnancy with Stuart. Her complexion had dulled, she looked a bit sallow and she slept a lot more than usual. They wasted no time in getting to the doctor for a checkup, who gave her the good news that everything looked good and that she shouldn't have any problems. Nevertheless, Kimberly was struggling through this pregnancy. The healthy birth of their little Ian was a true gift to both Kimberly and Roderick.

After little Ian was born, Kimberly never did regain her strength. Her body ached, she had trouble concentrating, and she simply couldn't find the energy to do even the easiest of tasks. Roderick was concerned and took her to the doctor. The stress of the past pregnancies had taken it's toll on Kimberly's body & her immune system. Kimberly was under strict orders - no more pregnancies.

This was a terrible blow for Kimberly. She wasn't ready to give up having babies with Roderick yet. She realized she was getting older and the thought had occured to her before that she may have to stop at some point, but she didn't feel ready yet. Afterall, she had heard on the news about a woman who just had a baby at the age of 63! If that woman could do it, why couldn't Kimberly?

Roderick was very understanding of everything that Kimberly was going through, but reminded her that all was not lost. "Babe, we have so much room here and so much to offer lots of kids. The doctor never said we couldn't adopt,". Kimberly's whole face lit up and she hugged Roderick like she had never hugged him before.

Kimberly wasted no time in calling the adoption agency. They immediately knew who she was, by Roderick's reputation of course. Kimberly was heard saying:
"Well yes...he is a Mad Scientist, but that's a misleading title. He's not really mad, per say. He just loves to ... tinker. "
"Well no...no he hasn't blown anything up...lately."
"Oh no...the children are never allowed in Daddy's labora...errr...the attic."
"No ma'am, that didn't exactly work. The plant died."

Kimberly's smooth talking worked, and they were approved for the adoptions. Roderick noted that the sparkle was back in his wife's eyes. For the first time in months, Kimberly felt pretty good. She decided a quick nap would do her some good, while she was waiting for their new child to arrive.

Meanwhile, Roderick was on his own phone call. We aren't sure what it was about, but his expression sure says it all in this picture. I wonder what he could have been so shocked to learn?

<- THE STRANGETOWN GAZETTE / AS HEARD BY ELSIE MAY ->

Ch. 34 - The Strangetown Gazette

2006-04-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

ABDUCTION IN STRANGETOWN

Leif Lind, age 16, was abducted Wednesday night while stargazing with his younger brother, Mace, age 14. Mace, a die-hard Judge Judy fan, said "We were looking at Mars when all of the sudden I looked and this big blue light was sucking Leif up! I started yelling 'Call the Judge! Call the Judge!, but nobody heard me!".

Leif was returned safe and sound and, unlike most male abductees, was not artifically alie-inseminated.

Leif, who was a bit shaken after the incident had this to say, "It was cool." A hero of few words.

WELCOME TO THE CRIB & PLAYPEN SET

Lilly Brown gave birth to a healthy bouncing baby girl on Friday morning at 10:18 am. The little girl, named Tia Marie Brown, weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and measured 21 inches long. Little Tia was born with blonde hair and blue eyes.

ASK LIZA JANE

Liza Jane here, on the streets of Strangetown answering your questions and getting the gossip that you want.

You wanted to know:

Dear LJ,
Why does Lilly Brown walk around in her bra & underwear?
Signed, Perplexed in Clothes

Dear Perp,
Well dear, I went out to Lilly's house to get that answer just for you. I simply asked "So Lilly, why the partial nudity?". Her answer? "Cause I'm hot, duh."

So there ya have it Perp. She's hot...but we already knew, didn't we? *wink*

This is Liza Jane Lind, answering another of your stupid...err..I mean very important questions. Til next time Strangetown!

<- THE MOMMY DIARIES / DOCTORS ORDERS ->

Ch. 33 - The Mommy Diaries

2006-04-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

(Excerpts from Kimberly Ridgeway's Diaries)

(Authors Note: I apologize for the length of this post...I'm very behind in updating for this Legacy family!)

Dear Diary,
Today is Easter Day. It's also the day that our little number 5 came into our lives. We've named her Lily, which seems fitting given what day it is. She's so precious, and again - has my sisters blonde hair and blue eyes. Little Lily is just the sweetest little baby. She is so quiet, that sometimes I honestly forget she's there. Roddy never does though. He's just as attentive to her as he was to Christopher, Catherine, Graham and Nicholas. Oh poor Roderick. He was all smiles of course, but I could see in his eyes that he wanted his mother's beautiful red hair in just one more baby. We're going to keep trying of course. I can't imagine not being pregnant and having more babies with Roddy. I'm sure we'll be pregnant again in no time!

And they were! For some reason, I don't have a shot of Kimberly pregnant after Lily, but they conceived again right away!

Roddy decided he needed a change and grew out his beard. He loves it and I think he's rather handsome with it. I did notice that his hair is thinning out on the top...I wonder if he's noticed at all? I don't want to mention it to him. Well, not yet anyway. He still works a lot, and still works those crazy nighttime hours. I guess that goes along with being a Mad Scientist. He attempted to build a time-warp machine in our attic, but it didn't go too well. After some a little work on the walls and ceiling, the attic looked as good as new again. You'd never know anything actually exploded up there at all. Of course, Graham (who was assisting him on this one particular night) is still glowing a little bit here and there, but Roddy assures me that he'll grow out of it eventually.

Dear Diary,
This whole ghost issue is getting to be quite a problem around here. This time it was Graham that jumped out of bed screaming! He said it was Grandma Jan that scared him. I think there may be something to this. Can all of my children really be imagining the same thing? Billy Blackhawk came over and said the house is definitely haunted by three spirits, Jebidiah, Jan and Quinten. But really, couldn't Sarah have told him all of that? He said they want some peace, but don't know how to get it. Well if you ask me, we're the ones that aren't at peace around here. We're being haunted by them for goodness sakes! Maybe if they'd just follow the light, or whatever it is that ghosts are supposed to do, we could all have come peace for once.

Dear Diary,
These kids keep growing up! I tell them to stop, and they completely ignore me and grow up anyway. First Graham beecame a teenager, then before I knew it, Lily had grown into a toddler! Graham is a good boy, but I'm concerned about all these girls he's always with. I wish he'd settle down with one girlfriend, instead of a different girl each week.
Lily is still such a joy to be around...and so smart! She's learning how to walk and talk so easily. Roddy said he almost has her potty trained as well. Graham is a big help around the house, when he's not out with some girl somewhere. That boy...

Graham is a Romance teen with a LTW to Woohoo with 20 Different Sims

Dear Diary,
I had so much fun with Nicholas the other. It's been a long time since I played the drums, but he begged me to play for him, so of course I did. I was amazed that my belly still fit back there. Nicholas loved it and had a great time dancing to the beat of the drums. It wasn't long before I had to stop playing though. I started feeling really tired and a little sick to my stomach and needed to lay down.

Nicholas must have been worried about me because he followed me into my room, but by then the contractions had started. He got a little scared and asked if I was ok. In between the pain I managed to say "Yes Honey, Mommy's quite ok. Just a little *uuuuugggggghhhh* uncomfyness. Do you know where Daddy is Sweetie?".

A little while later, my dear Roddy was holding his new son Stuart. He couldn't take his eyes off of Stuart's beautiful brown eyes and red hair. I don't think I got to hold Stuart that whole day, which was really ok with me since I needed to catch up on my sleep anyway. Roddy has been glowing since Stuart was born. He's very happy.

I'm a little worried about how Lily is taking having a baby in the house though. She seems to have a touch of sibling rivalry, something I haven't had to deal with before. I guess only time will tell if we handle this right or not.

Dear Diary,
My babies have left for college.

Catherine has gone off to study Law Enforcement. Christopher has gone off to study in the Culinary field. I'm pretty sure I heard Graham asking for his old room, because just after Christopher left, Graham moved all of his things in there. They're, of course, at our old Alma Mater (Academie La Tour) and even staying in the same house that Roddy and I started off in. I mentioned to Christopher that he should join his Daddy's Greek House, and he said he & Catherine had both already put the application in. I can't wait to hear back from them! What am I doing to do with myself now that two of my little babies have left the nest?

Right, I can always do this again! Make room for Baby No. 7!

Dear Diary,
I never wrote about the awful thing that happened just after little Stuart was born. It was my father in law, Jeb's fault. He jumped out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of me! I think that was very mean of him personally. I was always very nice to Daddy Jeb when he was alive and I can't believe that he'd do this to me. I guess my kids really have been seeing ghosts all along. Wow. I live in a haunted house.
Oh, yeah ... back to my story. So I got so scared that I dropped Stuart! Stuart didn't seem to mind much. I mean, I'm not very tall so it's a short distance from here to the floor. But Roddy - oh Roddy was unbearable for the rest of the night! I can't tell you how many times I heard "You almost killed him!". Stuart was fine. I took him in to our family doctor who said everything looked great and that Stuart has lots of baby fat that protected him just fine. He did look at me kind of funny when I said that I dropped him because my dead father-in-law scared me. He asked me if I'm under any stress. I have 6 kids & we live in a haunted house Doc, of COURSE I'm under stress! He gave me a prescription for something called "Xanax", but I threw it away. Crazy doctor. Sheesh!

I've solved the problem though and I won't ever drop another baby again. I've learned this really neat trick. Now I can just stick Stuart right to my big baby belly. This way, if I put my hands up in fear of a ghost, or anything else, Stuart will just stay stuck right to me! Pretty cool, isn't it? Roddy wants to get it patented, but I honestly don't even know how I did it.

Graham says he's not scared of the ghosts we have around here anymore. He was only scared the first time that his Grandma Jan jumped out of his bed back when he was a young boy. Graham says that not only does he see them moving through the house quite frequently now, but he even communicates with them. According to Graham, his grandparents simply don't want to leave their children and grandchildren. What was disturbing to learn though was that his Uncle Quinten is angry that he was left in that shed to die, and he wants revenge. Revenge! How were we to know that Quinten locked himself in the shed? Come to think of it, the door on that shed doesn't even lock from the inside. You'd have to lock it from the outside and when I found him (oh that was just horrible!), that door was unlocked! I wasn't too worried until Roddy told me that Quinten jumped out at him twice in a row last night. It almost scared him to death. I need to figure out a way to stop Quinten before he does something to my husband or one of my children!

Dear Diary,
I think something is going on with Roddy and his big sister Amelia. She was over here the other day and wouldn't even give Roddy a hug! When I asked him what was wrong, he put his hand on my cheek, told me not to worry about it, and went to go play with Stuart. He looked sad, but...well maybe I'm just imagining things. Graham did tell me that he saw her stealing our newspaper that same morning. I know that she retired from her job, but I didn't realize she and Matthew were that broke! I think I'll make up a nice care package for them.

These kids just don't mind a word I say about not growing up so fast! Can you believe that Stuart is already a toddler and little Lily is already a sweet little girl? Before you know it, this baby I'm carrying will be a toddler, then a child, then a teen, then I'll be waving to them as they head off to college. Not long after that I'll attend their graduation, and walk them down the aisle at their wedding. Oh they're just growing up so darn fast. I'm afraid that this is the last baby that I'm going to be able to have. I'm not as young as I used to be and my pregnancies are getting harder and harder. This one in particular is pretty difficult. I'm so...tired.

<- MEET ELSIE MAY / THE STRANGETOWN GAZETTE ->

Ch. 32 - Meet Elsie May

2006-04-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Howdy y'all! I'm Elsie May from deep in the heart of Texas! I recently moved to this here Strangetown (and what a strange town it is) with my Mama. Since we moved here my Mama has gotten hitched to a man with the strangest name I've ever heard, Vindcund Curious. I also have some baby brothers and a sister, but you'll meet them in a minute. First, meet my Mama!

This is my Mama, Mary Sue. Mama's a pro pool player, so if'n you see her down at the pool hall, you'd be best off to stay clear of the tables, unless you have some money burnin' a hole in yer pocket of course.

She is one smart cookie and she's taught me a lot. One thing Mama always says is to keep my eyes n' ears open. You'd be amazed at what you can learn just by listenin' to everybody else's conversations around here. You can learn even more by takin' a little peek at their mail. Yes indeedy!

She has a lot of good advice for me. Mama always says "Don't ever eat anything bigger than yer head". That there's some good advice. If Amelia Howe had listened to Mama, then she wouldn't have ended up lookin' like this:

Now, people say that Amelia just got herself a bad plastic surgeon this go 'round, and had some kind of weird allergic reaction, but I say she shur looks like she tried eatin' a whole watermelon in one bite, don't she? Don't worry, she got herself all fixed up and is lookin' purdy as ever now. I gotta say, it's purdy cool livin' in the same town as a Hollywood Icon such as herself, although she's never given me so much as a proper hello. I just loved her in "Gone With The Hurricane".

Let's meet the rest of my family. Here's Mama with my brand new stepdaddy Vindcund. They both discovered they were pregnant at the same time. Imagine that, a pregnant man! This kind of stuff don't happen in Texas. The most excitin' thing happened down there was when Mrs. Trumbower's cow gave birth to a 2-headed calf. That was a big day in town for everyone. Yes indeedy!

Ain't they cute together?

This here's my lil sister Betti Jo & our alien brother, Merc. We also have a baby brother named Bobby John, but I ain't got any pictures of him yet. Betti Jo was born without a chin. No, I ain't jokin', the girl ain't got a stinkin' chin! Mama's saving up her money to get it fixed. It don't help that Vindcund went and got hisself fired from his job neither. My Mama is a fighter though, and she bounces back from everything.

Once I showed Mama the purdy flowers I learned how to make, she got the best idea. We opened up a store together called "Mary Sue's Pretty Petals". I told Mama that she spelled it wrong and it's P-U-R-D-Y, but she's a little stubborn sometimes. That's my Mama. The store is doing really well too. I work there during the day while Mama works at night. We had another boy working there, but he quit. Couldn't handle the high pressure of the flower business I guess. Of course havin' this business has inspired Mama to put forth more of the advice that she's so well known for. So for anyone wishin' to open their own store, here's some advice straight from my Mama.

Mama Advice # 1:

Don't install one of them micro-wavee ovens in yer breakroom unless you can lock yer door to keep the pesky customers out. They can't cook without settin' the place on fire, which the other customers just don't like.

Mama Advice # 2:

Don't let burned up dead people lay around in yer store. You think customers don't like a little fire? Think how they feel about the smell of "charred dead guy"! AND did you know that the Grim Reaper doesn't clean the mess up? I had to do it myself.

Which brings me to Mama Advice # 3 (which I do not have a picture fer). Make sure you wash yer hands after cleaning up charred dead people. I think I might have left some ashes on one of those bouquets I made afterwards...

Ain't she smart? Let's hear it for my Mama! Can I get a What What?!

So, on to the town gossip...I mean...the stuff I've learned this week.

The Ridgeways have had some babies. Either that or that woman is some freak of nature that is always pregnant. I also saw two of their kids gettin' into cabs with boxes of stuff. Mama said they went off to college. I cain't imagine why anyone would want to go to school. They must be crazy or sumthin'. Mama doesn't let me go over there. She said the father is some kind of Mad Scientist. She says he even tried to put some dead guy into a plant. I heard the house is haunted, but...well...Graham lives there. He's really cute. Maybe Mama won't know if I sneak over there a time or two.

I read sumthin' about Amelia Howe retiring from show business. Say it ain't so Amelia!

Then there's this Leif Lind guy that actually got abducted! Vindcund said he was abducted, and I didn't believe him until little Merc was born. Now I myself saw Leif's pregnancy test and it was neg-ee-tive, so we don't have to worry about havin' any more little green guys runnin' around town.

The best piece of gossip...err...news I've heard is about this Lilly girl. I heard that she's dating some married guy, but nobody knows who he actually is. She denied it for a while until she just couldn't deny it any more, if you know what I mean. I've seen her myself. She spends a lot of time in her underwear. Once I get her to admit who he is, well I'll let ya know fer sure! Yes indeedy!

Ok, that's it for me - Elsie May. Comin' at ya live from Stangetown. Til next time, be happy and remember what Mama always says...

"Don't bring yer toaster in the shower with you!"

<- FORBIDDEN LOVE / THE MOMMY DIARIES ->

Ch. 31 - Forbidden Love

2006-04-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

Sarah really loved being married to Billy. She also loved Roderick's wedding gift to them, a big house up on the hill. Billy and Sarah moved right in, along with his two sons, Brent and Bear, who both decided to stay in Strangetown with their father and new stepmother. Bear is a bit of a challenge to live with, but Sarah can handle him. She decided to retire from her job as Chief of Staff, and started writing a book titled "How To Marry Outside of Your Ethnicity". So far, it's a very short book. She's got another book planned though, in case this one doesn't pull through. The second one is called "My Rise to the Top: A Day in the Life of the Chief of Staff". Billy thinks she should write historical books or love stories, since they're such big sellers. She thinks her books will be very interesting though and can't understand why he wouldn't agree. Huh.

There was a lot going on in Lizzie's house. Liza Jane, who got a promotion to Convenience Store Clerk, continued to eye the boys. However, on one particular night while Liza Jane was outside stargazing, a stranger walked by. He stopped and looked towards the house, then continued on his way. Liza Jane tried to talk to him, but he was walking too quickly. She got a good look at him though and he looked just like...

Mace! Holy cow, did her Mom really have an affair? And was this guy Mace's father? Wait a minute, she knew who this guy was. She'd heard rumors about him. Wasn't he part of that murder at the college a few years back? Hmmm...Liza Jane had some questions, but wasn't sure how to get answers or who to even ask.

You may not recognize this guy. This is Leif after his much needed makeover. Leif realized that the Beanie Cap just wasn't cutting it anymore, so he put it in his closet, got contacts, and went shopping. He knew if he took his Mom with him, she'd buy him something pink. "Girly-Boy" wasn't the look he was really going for, so he brought his sister with him instead. She didn't do half bad.

Shopping for Leif's clothes wasn't on Lizzie's mind though. Her hands were starting to hurt. Chopping onions just wasn't that easy for her anymore. She was starting to feel old.

Perhaps it was because it was so close to her birthday that Lizzie started feeling old. Almost the whole day had slipped away before Lizzie and Jessie realized that it was both of their birthdays. Guess it's not as much fun after you've passed 50, eh? Lizzie suddenly realized however that she was wearing *gasp* green. She turned to tell Jessie that she'd be going shopping the next day, but he was busy with his own transformation.

Jessie didn't want to miss the action, and changed into his old-man clothes. He liked his though and made sure to comment to Lizzie about how well his hands still work. She just stuck her tongue out at him, then went out to exercise.

Lizzie's LTW is to max out 7 skills. She's one body point away from succeeding. Good luck Lizzie!

Meanwhile, back at college:
(Yes I realized that I said I wasn't going to post about the non-Heirs that were at college, but this was too good to pass up! LOL)

Alyson had a forbidden love...Cooper Olshfski. You might recognize him as Amelia's Finer Thing #1. Yes that Amelia... Alyson's mother. Yikes, this could be interesting. Alyson, don't do anything stupid with this guy!

OK, too late.

COMING SOON: How will Sarah's books do in the bookstores - or will they even be published? Is Blair really the father of Mace? How will Liza Jane find out? Will Jessie find out about his wife's affair, or does he already know? Will Alyson stay in school, or will she drop out to marry Cooper? Will Cooper stay faithful to her, or will his Romance Aspiration ways cause problems in the relationship? What will Amelia think about her daughter's engagement?

<- MEMOIRS OF A MOMMY / MEET ELSIE MAY ->

Ch. 30 - Memoirs of a Mommy

2006-04-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

More excerpts from Kimberly Ridgeway's diary:

Dear Diary,
Christopher is at it again. A few times I found him out of bed playing, and one time he was even taking a bath. He said he couldn't sleep, but he looked a little scared about something. At one point I ran into his room after I heard him scream. He said his Uncle Quinten was scaring him again. He did look absolutely terrified, but what do I do? How do I know if he's actually seeing this, or if he just has an overactive imagination?

I looked up Indigo Children on the internet, and it was interesting but not much help. I also talked to Billy Blackhawk, who said he'd come over and spend some time with Christopher to help him deal with his "abilities". I don't want my son to have "abilities", I want him to be a normal little boy! But if Billy can help...well that would be great. One solid night's sleep would be a real milestone for Christopher. I wonder why Catherine doesn't "see ghosts"?

Deer Diery,
Shhhh I'm writing in my Mommy's diery. Today Daddy got mad at me becuz I broked the dishwather. He tawked and tawked until I thawt his jaw would fall off. He thaid I have to be more careful. I thawt I wuz being careful. Daddy fixed it up all by hithelf. Mommy thaid not to cry. I just need to find another place to give my Barbie dollth a bath.

Then Mommy took me in her room and did my hair and let me put on her lip glothy thtuff. I look like a movie thtar!

Mommy'th commin. I better hide the diery!
Thigned, Catherine Ridgeway

PS: Hi Mommy. I hope yer not mad at me. I luv you.
Thigned, Your Little Angel

Dear Diary,
Oh look, Catherine wrote something in here too. That's just too cute. How could I be mad at her for that? I'll have to make sure I show it to any future boyfriends of hers.

You'll never guess what has happened! This time only took one try, not 10 like last time. I took a test today that confirmed it - we're expecting baby #5! Roderick's family is betting on twins, but I seriously think that the odds are against it. I think it was just a fluke when I had Christopher and Catherine. I'd rather put my energy into hoping for another red headed baby. Roddy's going to be so sad if his beautiful red hair isn't passed along to another baby. At least we have Christopher!

Dear Diary,
The twins are so cute together. I was very lucky to have the camera in my hand when I caught them jumping on their little brother's bed. Of course I snapped the shot quickly, then told them to get down. Someone could fall and get hurt you know...maybe even poke an eye out!

A little later, I found them dancing to the stereo. That was a much safer way for them to spend their time, although I had to change the station and put something a little more appropriate on for them. When I walked in, there was a song on that was saying something like "I like big butts and I cannot lie"? What kind of song is that for a child to listen to?! I put Barney on for them instead. They seemed to like that, although they stopped dancing shortly after that.

Dear Diary,
Today is the twin's birthday! They've grown up so fast. Can you believe that they're talking about college? It was just yesterday (or so it seems) that we were teaching them to walk and talk, and here they are - almost adults. Catherine has grown up to be quite a beautiful young lady. I keep telling Roderick that we should invest in a shotgun. He was one step ahead of me though. He gave her a Tshirt for her birthday that says "My Daddy Owns a Shotgun". That should keep the boys away.

And here is our "little" Christopher. Can you believe how much he looks like Roddy did when I first met him? Sometimes I trip up and call him "Roddy", but he puts up with it well.

Here's a picture of Roddy as a teen for comparison: Isn't the resemblence uncanny? Roddy said it's like looking in a time-warp mirror. After he said that, he got a strange look in his eyes and ran up to the attic again. I hope he doesn't blow anything up again.

Roddy spends a couple hours up there every day, working on his "theories". He was trying to ressurect Quinten at one time, but stopped when he found out that Sarah and Billy got married (which I had already figured out, thank you very much). That was a close call though. The fern he was using was already showing signs of life, which meant that Quinten was very close to coming back! I don't see how Roddy was going to get Quinten out of the fern once he had him in there, but he said he was working on it one step at a time. Maybe he should bring him back so he'll leave Christopher alone. I could use a fern on my desk.

Ooo! I felt the baby kick! Somebody must be hungry. I'd better go eat something. Toodles!

Both Christopher and Catherine are Popularity aspirations. Guess the dice knew they were twins!

<- SARAH'S BIG SECRET / FORBIDDEN LOVE ->

Ch. 29 - Sarah's Big Secret

2006-04-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

(This is a short post, but one that I thought deserved it's own section!)

Kimberly had a keen sense all right. Sarah had indeed been hiding something, but that secret was about to come out.

Sarah called Billy and told him that it's time. Billy showed up pretty quickly, albeit a bit nervous about how Roderick would react.

"Roddy", she announced, "Billy & I have something to tell you, but first I have to let you know that I love you and I've absolutely loved being in this house - your house. You opened your home and heart to me even after I treated you horribly, and I admire you for that. Having said that, it's time that I moved out and gave you and your beautiful family your own space".

"Yes", added Billy, "it's time that my wife moved in with me".

Roderick almost chocked on his own breath. Did he say "wife"? Yup, that's what he said. Sarah and Billy had already married the previous weekend and were just waiting for the right time to share their exciting news. Since Billy's investigation was over & Kimberly had given birth to another healthy baby, Sarah was certain that the time was right and she was ready to move out of the home she had lived in for 63 yrs to start her new life with Billy.

Roderick couldn't be happier for his sister. She deserved to be happy and deserved a guy like Billy. He knew that Billy would take great care of her, and that's all that mattered to him. He gave his sister a big hug, told her to expect her wedding gift in the mail, and helped her pack her things up. The kids cried when they heard that Aunt Sarah was leaving, but they were happy for her as well.

As they left, Roderick remembered that he'd left his Ressurect-A-Dead-Guy machine running in the attic, and ran to go shut it off before he accidentally succeeded in bringing Quinten back. Whew, wouldn't that be a mess?!

And Billy and Sarah lived happily ever after...

<- THE MURDERER IS REVEALED / MEMOIRS OF A MOMMY ->

Ch. 28 - The Murderer is Revealed

2006-04-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

After their meeting with Julianna, Brent was feeling optimistic about furthering their investigation. Things were starting to fall into place, but there was one thing that they were obviously missing. Julianna said that they were very close to their answer. What was the key? Brent decided to contact his ancestors for a little help. After an hour of deep meditation, he came out with the answers that he was hoping to get. Brent knew who the murderer was. He called his brother and father over, and informed them that they had to go back to the cemetary.

Bear had gone shopping and bought them all new work outfits, but Billy refused to wear his. He thought they looked goofy and commented that he wouldn't be caught dead in such a ridiculous costume. Bear didn't care. He thought they were kinda cool. Brent actually liked them too. He felt very "legimate" in his uniform. He practiced yelling "I've been slimed!", but he knew the chances of actually being slimed were very slim since that only happened in the movies.

When they got to the gravestone in the back, Brent pointed to it and announced, "There he is Dad". Billy went into his trance, contacted Ramin, and verified what Brent had learned earlier from his ancestors.

"It's done boys. We've gone as far as we can with this, so let's pack it up and get our report in to Blair".

Bear wasn't happy about this though. That's it? That's all there is to this one? What happened to the "big investigation" that he was brought here for? He didn't even get to rough anyone up this time. What a lame investigation. He was out of there...

As Bear walked out of the cemetary, he was overwhelmed by the feeling that he was being followed and watched.

Bear wasn't the only one that felt it. Billy was certain someone was watching them. He soon realized that it was another spirit, just making sure that they were actually leaving the cemetary. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between a spirit and a living person, but Billy had been doing this for a long time and his senses were very fine-tuned.

Brent called Roderick, who informed him that he was at the local bowling alley and invited him to stop by. Bear and Billy wanted to go home, get some dinner & start writing up the report, so Brent dropped them off then was on his way to talk to Roderick. After bowling a quick game and getting a bite to eat, Brent finally told him what he had gone there for...that they knew who murdered Prof Ivy and why. Although he wasn't supposed to tell Roderick until after they had turned the report in to the person that hired them (who, in this case, was Blair), he felt that he owed this much to Roderick after the trouble he gave him earlier.

Brent leaned over to Roderick and whispered the name of the murderer in his ear, along with the rest of the story and where the murderer is now.

Years before, when Blair had confided in Nathen about his recent engagement to Prof Ivy, he didn't realize that he was starting the wheels in motion that would end in her death. Nathen loved to gossip and couldn't contain himself. He told a few other people, and eventually the wrong person found out. They were jealous of Ivy, who was taking the man that they wanted, and did what they had to do to stop her in her tracks. Although they had gone for years without anyone finding out about their little secret, there was one person who not only knew who killed Ivy, but wanted revenge.

That was Prof Ivy herself, and she would definitely get her revenge. She was mad that she would never get a chance to have a family like she wanted, while her murderer was running around free and would be starting a family of his own. She wanted Ramin to suffer her fate.

She ended up scaring him to death, getting him four times in a row and eventually causing him to suffer a massive heart attack.

Nathen & Viola found Ramin just as he was going toward the light. Viola couldn't believe what she was seeing, and felt a little light headed. Ivy had gotten her revenge and would leave them alone now.

Ramin appeared to Billy and confessed to the whole crime, explaining that it indeed was a crime of passion, but it wasn't Blair that he was in love with - it was Prof Ivy herself. He was mad and hurt when he heard that she was engaged to that little Blair guy and before he knew it, he was locking her up behind the wall. Now that he'd crossed over himself, he realized how wrong he was and what a big mistake he made. He told Billy, for what it's worth, to tell Blair that he was sorry for the pain he'd caused him and that he hoped that he could now move on and be happy.

And there you had it...the whole crime in a nutshell. Roderick was shocked. He honestly never saw it at all. He never knew that Ramin had it in him. He always liked Ramin - everybody liked Ramin.

Brent then apologized to Roderick for how he treated him earlier, and explained why he was suspicious of him. Roderick brushed it aside and said "Don't worry about that. We're friends now... it's water under the bridge". Friends. That felt good to hear Roderick call him a friend. It's been a long time since Brent had been settled anywhere long enough to have a friend. He was going to hate to leave town again.

<- THE INVESTIGATION HEATS UP / SARAH'S BIG SECRET ->

Ch. 27 - The Investigation Heats Up

2006-04-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

Billy and Brent needed more information to close this case, and they knew just how to get it. First, they went back to the poker club that Billy had tried to get information from before. This time, Brent said that he would come along to make sure that his father didn't get all googly-eyed over anyone else and screw up the investigation. Billy quickly reminded him that he could still whoop his butt if he had to. But, having Brent along paid off. He managed to get two guys talking about what they had heard and what the rumors around town were about the Alpha Beta Kappa house. It seemed as if there was a little love triangle that managed to stay quiet for all those years. It was the perfect motive for murder. The Blackhawk's took their winnings, and went home to prepare for their next stop.

It didn't take long for them to get back to Strangetown. When they got home however, they were surprised to see a man waiting for them on their front porch. It was Billy's youngest son and Brent's younger brother, Bear. Bear was a "Get It Done" kind of guy, which Billy knew would come in handy for this investigation. He was happy that Bear had taken him up on his offer and come in to Strangetown, but Brent wasn't sure how he felt about his brother being in town. They got along ok enough, but there was always an underlying tension between the two of them. Life with Bear around should be interesting.

After changing to their "work" attire, the men sat down to discuss their strategy. Brent mentioned that they might run into a ghost or two on this excursion, so everyone had to be on their toes.
Bear replied with "What's the big deal. From what I hear all you guys are catching lately is a little kissy face, right Dad?". Billy commented on the fact that he was the one that brought Bear into this world, and he could certainly take him back out again if he didn't watch it. And on that note, they were off.

Billy had heard, through the Ghostly Grapevine, that Julianna Traviat was the one who he would need to contact for information from the other side. They got to the town's graveyard and started working their magic. While Brent and Bear stood watch, Billy went into a trance-like state, and started looking for Julianna. After a short time, he found what he was looking for...and got some good information to boot. Julianna told him that the murderer was not an evil person, but rather someone that was well-loved by all and that this was simply a crime of passion. She also told him that he was very close to his answer...then she disappeared. As they walked away Billy was thinking that he wished he could have talked to her for longer, as he always does. Brent was proud of his dad and was thinking that he always came through and did great work. Bear was thinking about how they all needed cooler outfits for the next outing.

Someone that was well-loved...Julianna's words ran through Brent's head over and over again. He knew exactly who fit that description. Someone who's well liked, who's a nice person and that had a very close relationship with Blair in college. Brent told his dad that he knew just who to talk to next but since it was now 1 am, it would have to wait until morning.

Roderick was standing in his front yard, which made confronting him easy for Brent. He walked over to Roderick and just looked at him. Roderick made a comment to Brent that he was making him a little nervous with that look on his face. He asked if Brent was planning on hurting him or anything, to which Brent simply answered "Not yet".

Brent finally asked Roderick if there was anything else he wanted to tell them about their time in college. Roderick thought for a minute then said "Ummm, no?". Brent just stared at him again, which made Roderick even more nervous. "Ok ok ok", Roderick confessed, "There was a rumor that there was some love triangle in the house while we were there, but I honestly don't know who was involved...other than Blair & Ivy of course". Brent wasn't sure he could trust Roderick. He had a feeling that he was hiding something and thought maybe Roderick was the 3rd person. Brent decided to keep an eye on Roderick.

Meanwhile Billy had wandered across the street and was having his first chat with Kimberly. He was starting to get some suspicions of his own. For a women that he'd heard was "always in bed", she looked pretty good to him. Maybe she wasn't all that she seemed. Sure, she seemed nice and innocent and sweet, but that could have all been an act. Maybe she was the 3rd person. Billy was sure that his instincts were sharp and that he was on the right track.

After asking her a few questions, getting some pretty lame answers, and seeing his beloved Sarah, Billy and Brent walked back home to get ready for their next meeting. This one was sure to be a worthwhile experience...one that neither Billy, Brent or Bear would ever forget.

<- LUCKY NO. 10 / THE MURDERER IS REVEALED ->

Ch. 26 - Lucky No. 10

2006-04-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

These are excerpts taken right from Kimberly Ridgeway's diary:

Dear Diary,
Roddy and I want so desperately to have another baby, but it just doesn't seem to be working. We've tried everything we can think of, and it just isn't happening. Is there something wrong with me?

Dear Diary,
It's a wonderful day! After 10 tries, we finally succeeded in conceiving baby number four! It feels so good to put my maternity pj's back on. Roddy is so excited. He says I have my beautiful glow back. I feel pretty good, although I get tired easily. The boys seem ok with it, but boys don't usually get very excited over baby clothes and such. Catherine seems to be the most excited out of all the kids. She loves rubbing my belly. Roddy wants twins again, which would be nice, except for the whole "double labor and delivery" aspect of it. I've been very lucky to have Sarah with me each time to help me out. This time I'll be happy with either one or two babies...just not any more than that! I think I'll go take a nap now.

Dear Diary,
Tonight Christopher woke me up twice with nightmares. First, he claimed that his Uncle Quinten's ghost jumped out of his bed and scared him. No sooner did I get him back in bed, did he come running out screaming again.

This time he said it was his Grandma Jan's ghost that jumped out and scared him. He says that they aren't dreams, but there's no way that this could be real, right? Maybe I should talk to Sarah's friend Billy. He claims to see ghosts too. I've heard of these Indigo Kids...maybe Christopher is one of those. I should do an internet search tomorrow and see what I can learn about this.

Dear Diary,
Today our is our little Graham's birthday. It seems like it was just yesterday that he was born. We spent the day moving his things out of the nursery and putting his new bed in a room with his brother, Christopher. Catherine is very happy to have her own room now, but that may change depending on whether this baby is a boy or a girl.

Dear Diary,
Today Catherine came home from school and caught us cuddling on the couch. She walked by and said "Oh get a room, would you?!". It was so funny. I laughed, but Roddy told her to go do her homework or something. I love Roddy so much. He's so sweet to me and takes such good care of me. I hear my friends talking about their husbands...complaining about how they ignore them and everything...and I feel so lucky to have him.

Dear Diary,
This is is! I started having back pains late last night, and this morning I'm definitely in labor. I'd better wake Roddy up and go get Sarah!

Dear Diary,
Everything went great, and we've had our third son. We named him Nicholas, after my grandfather. He's my biggest baby yet - 9 lbs 5 oz! I'm so glad he wasn't twins! He has my families blonde hair and blue eyes, just like Catherine and Graham do. Roddy tries to hide it, but I can tell that he's a little upset that we've only had one red headed baby. I'm sure we'll have another one eventually. I think we're addicted to having babies. Maybe it's the conceiving part that we're actually addicted to...

Dear Diary,
Today I met Sarah's new beau, Billy Blackhawk. He's kinda cute, for an old guy. He asked me a lot of strange questions though - about college and Blair's Professor girlfriend that went missing. If I was Blair's girl, I would have run away. I made sure to tell Billy that too. She's probably living with some other guy now and laughing at all of us who are still looking for her. I don't think Billy heard a word I said though. He & Sarah couldn't stop looking at each other the whole time I was talking. If I was the type to get offended easily (which I'm not), that would have really offended me. Instead, I gave them their little time in Heavenly Stare-Land. I've been there with Roddy. It's a fun place to visit. I can't help but think that they have some little secret going on there though. I'm starting to think that they....naaaaahhh.

<- SARAH'S BIRTHDAY PARTY / THE INVESTIGATION HEATS UP ->

Ch. 25 - Sarah's Birthday Party

2006-04-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Sarah wasn't getting any younger, and her birthday was quickly approaching. She picked out a delicious cake for the party, although she wasn't happy about the amount of candles that they crammed on the top. Couldn't they have just put those neat little number candles on there instead? On second thought, maybe that would be worse...

Everything was ready and her friends were starting to arrive, when the doorbell rang with one unexpected guest.

There he stood - Billy Blackhawk. He was coming by to ask a few more questions, not realizing they were having a party at the same time. Although he offered to come back another time, Sarah warmly invited him in to join the festivities. He felt bad that he didn't have a gift for her, so he gave her a birthday hug instead. Is it just me, or does Sarah look pretty happy with this gift?

After a little bit of talking and dancing, the party guests went into the kitchen to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl & eat some birthday cake. From left to right are: Roderick, Billy, Abhijeet Cho (friend), Alyson (niece), Simon and Christopher. Catherine was in the bathroom when the picture was taken and Kimberly was laying down (surprise surprise).

After enjoying a piece of cake, Sarah suddenly felt a strange sensation taking over her body. She started seeing different colors and the room started to spin. With a POOF, Sarah transformed into an elder. Billy was impressed. She may be older, but she was still beautiful. *sigh*.

After the eating and singing was done, it was time to get down to the business of some serious partying. Simon gave his Mom the gift of a free DJ service for the party. He seemed to be really enjoying himself and really got into it.

The guests all enjoyed his talents as well. That darned Smustle dance just sucked them all in (can any Sim walk past a Smustle without jumping in?). Of course, not all of them were exactly on cue, but hey - they were all having a lot of fun. Roderick was playing pool and the twins were playing Pinball at the time that this picture was taken. It's good to see that Kimberly got herself up out of bed long enough to have some fun too.

Kimberly was having so much fun doing the Smustle, that she didn't notice what was going on behind her. Sarah and Billy seemed to be quite smitten with each other, and they didn't seem to care what anyone thought of it either. Sarah realized that she hadn't been a widow for very long and that some people may frown on her new love interest, but she just couldn't seem to stop thinking about Billy. He was simply...amazing. Billy had the same feelings for Sarah, but was confused on how far he should let this go. Afterall he was in the middle of an investigation and he needed to make sure he was able to stay concentrated on what he was in town for.

It'll be interesting to see just how far these two took this romance.

One person that wasn't too happy about the budding romance between Sarah and Billy, was her only son Simon. He missed his Dad and couldn't believe that his Mom had replaced him so easily and so soon. If only his Dad were there then, he thought, life would be normal again. The house would still be theirs and this Billy guy wouldn't be hanging around his Mom so much. He wanted to move out, but was still too young. Plus, he didn't hate his Mom at all. He just hated watching this other guy move in on his Dad's territory. There was one way that Simon could move out though, and he made the necessary call. It was one that Uncle Roderick had wanted him to make for a while.

Early the next morning, Simon called the university that his mother, two aunts and uncle had all attended and was surprised to find out that he qualified for several scholarships. Hot dog that was easy! He didn't even try and he got those, imagine how easy college was going to be. Yeah, this could work. Simon thought he could sneak out, but he was caught by the twins who gave him lots of hugs and wished him good luck. He promised to write and call, then went out to catch his cab.

Just as Simon was climbing in the cab, Uncle Roderick and Aunt Kimberly ran out to say goodbye. From the taxi he yelled,

"Bye Uncle Rod and Aunt Kim. Watch my Mom for me, will ya?"
"Oh...and thanks for everything Uncle Rod. You're pretty cool."

And with that being said, Simon headed off for college.

(Note: Since Simon isn't a Legacy Heir child, his college career won't be in the posts. However his return to Strangetown will be written up.)

COMING SOON: Will attempt #9 for Roderick and Kimberly be the magical one? Who killed Prof Ivy and why? How far will Billy and Sarah take this new interest they have in each other? What will happen if (or when?) Roderick does manage to ressurect Quinten? All this (and more of course) coming soon in the next update. :)

<- A STRANGER COMES TO TOWN / LUCKY NO. 10 ->

Ch. 24 - A Stranger Comes To Town

2006-04-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

Blair had finally found the box he was looking for, and it contained the one thing he had been looking for since the disappearance of his fiancee, Ivy. Finally, he had proof that she was murdered. This picture clearly shows her trapped inside the wall at Alpha Beta Kappa, as well as an image of the murderer himself! Unfortunately the murders face is partially hidden by that confounded Grim Reaper, but you can see him or her sitting at the computer, just waiting for his precious Ivy to die inside that wall. He tried showing it to the police, but they didn't seem to agree that it had any significance and told him that the case would be merely reviewed again & that they'd call him if they got any leads.

Blair then knew that he needed an expert. He called the one man that he knew could help him - Billy Blackhawk. He had heard of Billy by reputation only, but he knew that this was the only man that could close this mystery. He sent a plane ticket for Billy, who showed up just a few days later along with his son, Brent. He didn't hesitate to introduce himself to Billy and tell him the story of Ivy, her disappearance, his theories on what happened to her, and what he'd learned since then. She also showed Billy his new proof. Billy agreed to take the case, but only if his son was also in agreement.

Blair went through the story again for Brent, who listened intently. He agreed that the case sounded fascinating, and that they could help him. He asked Blair several questions, including the names of his House Brothers and Sisters, and who the last person was that saw Ivy alive. Blair answered those questions easily. He was the last person to see her alive, except for the murderer of course. He supplied them with a list of names, then went home, mumbling something about his partner who was pregnant with an alien's baby. Brent asked his father if he was sure that this Blair guy was ok, but Billy said that he had a good way about him even if he talked a little crazy now and then.

Billy got right to work. The first person on the list lived right there in town, along with his wife who happened to be the second person on the list - Mr & Mrs Roderick Ridgeway. He called Roderick who agreed to come over but claimed his wife was unable to come with him. Apparently his wife slept a lot. Roderick was true to his word and showed up within just a few minutes of their phone conversation, along with his sister Sarah McAuley. Billy introduced himself as an independant consultant on the disappearance of Prof. Ivy Barthelet. Roderick was no dummy - "Independant Consultant" could mean many things. He willingly went inside to talk to Billy, but kept his eyes and ears open.

Billy asked a lot of questions:
"When was the last time you saw Prof Barthelet?"
"How would you describe your friendship with both Blair and Ivy?"
"Did you have any reason to want to do harm to the Prof?"
"Did any of your fellow pledges have any reason to want to harm the Prof?"
"What was your wife's relationship to both Blair and Ivy like?"
Finally Roderick asked the question he'd been wondering...
"What are you, a cop?"
Billy just answered, "No. I'm an independant agent".

Roderick couldn't figure out just what this guy was, unless...
"You know there's rumors of Ivy's ghost haunting Alpha Beta Kappa now. Are you a ghost hunter or something?"

Billy stalled for a minute, trying to decide how to answer the question.

"Yes, yes I'm something like that. I see spirits, or what you'd probably call "dead people". It's a gift I've had since I was a child. My son Brent has it too. So, there you have it."

Roderick shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well heck, I'm a Mad Scientist who's trying to ressurect the dead, for cryin' out loud. So...I'm cool with that".

Billy sat down on the couch and tried to come up with another course of action. He thought he would get more information out of Roderick and hadn't planned on him being so darned smart. He also hadn't planned on him bringing his sister along, who was being quite a distraction to Billy. He felt like if he looked at her, he'd melt. She was the most gorgeous women he'd ever seen in his life.

Finally he stood up and said "Ok then, thanks for coming by. You've been a big help". Roderick thanked him as well, and went to give him a friendly hug, but Billy made it clear that he was overstepping his boundaries.

"Hey man, I'm not into all that touchy-feely stuff", Billy informed him. Roderick just laughed and said "No worries", then he and Sarah left.

Billy's next course of action, he decided, was to hang out in town and talk to some of the locals. He could certainly get some of the gossip down there. He found a poker club, and thought that would be a good place to start. As he was walking over to join a table, he stopped in his tracks. To his amazement, Sarah was one of the people at the table. He thought about turning around and leaving, but she had already seen him and invited him to sit down. Billy never got around to asking any questions, since he couldn't take his eyes off of Sarah. She had a smile that lit up the whole room, although it looked a little forced. Billy wondered what sadness Sarah was fighting off.

Just as Sarah was getting up to leave, Billy snapped out of it and caught her at the door. He showed her the picture and asked if she could tell who that was behind Grimmy. She thought it looked a little like Viola ... or maybe it was Nathen. She really couldn't tell. As Sarah reached out to return the picture to Billy, their hands brushed against each other. For the first time she noticed his deep brown eyes. They had such a hard look to them, like they had seen enough to fill 10 lives, yet at the same time they looked compassionate and loving. She found herself being pulled in by his eyes, until his words snapped her back out of it.
"Mrs. McAuley? Are you ok?", Billy asked.
"Uhhhh yeah. I'm ok. Good night", and she left. Whew, that was close.

<- KEEP 'EM COMING / SARAH'S BIRTHDAY PARTY ->

Ch. 23 - Keep 'Em Coming!

2006-04-01T08:18:00.000-08:00

This shot is just to show you how cute little Catherine was with her new pigtails! It wouldn't last for long though since Catherine and her twin brother Christopher were growing up quickly. But on this particular day, Catherine wasn't thinking about growing up. She was wondering what Mommy was yelling about on the other side of the kitchen.

Although Kimberly was supposed to remain in bed (per her doctor's orders), she was hungry and got up to get something to snack on. That was all it took to put Kimberly in labor. Once again, Sarah was right by her side and helped her through the whole thing. The labor and delivery went by without a single problem and Kimberly gave birth to...

A healthy baby boy, who they named Graham. Kimberly quickly asked Sarah if there were any other surprises waiting to be born, but Sarah was happy to report this Graham was the only baby that Kimberly would be having today. Whew! Little Graham was born with his maternal aunt's blonde hair and blue eyes, just like his big sister Catherine. Looks like Kimberly's blonde hair/blue eyes genes were a bit stronger than Roderick's red hair/green eyes genes.

A few days later, Roderick was shocked to see his old House Brother, Blair, standing outside of their house. His shock quickly turned to excitement as he gave Blair a big hug. He had heard the rumors about Blair...about how he went a little crazy after the disappearance of his fiancee back in college...but he hadn't seen him until now. Roderick ushered his friend inside and called out to Kimberly to come see his old buddy. Kimberly wasn't happy to see Blair. She thought she had gotten rid of him years ago when she discovered him hanging around the house. He creeped her out and now here he is...inside her house...with her husband...around her children. She sat on the couch and just watched him while Roderick and Blair caught up with each other. She knew he wanted something, but she couldn't figure out what it was he wanted.

Finally he simply asked for what he wanted. He had a box in college with some pictures and videotapes in it that he couldn't find, and wanted to know if Roderick had taken the box by mistake when he moved out. Roderick went to the attic and, sure enough, found his old friends box. He returned the box unopened to his friend after apologizing several times for the mix up. Once Blair had gotten his hands on the box, he made some strange excuse about having to get home to his partner who was having an alien's baby, and left. As Kimberly walked past her husband, she commented "Told you he was crazy". The visit from his friend would be forgotten about for now, bt a stranger in town would soon rustle up some questions from the past for Roderick, Kimberly and Blair.

But for the time being, Roderick would continue to enjoy his work, his home, his wife, his sister, his nephew, and his beloved children - who happened to be growing like weeds. Kimberly knew that Catherine was officially a big girl when she wanted to dress herself for her first day of school. Even though the outfit didn't match, Kimberly didn't suggest a different one. Catherine was very proud of herself and felt good as she ran out to meet the bus.

Christopher, on the other hand, had managed to pick out a more coordinated outfit. His secret? It was a birthday gift from his Uncle Jessie and Aunt Lizzie. As a matter of fact, the shirt matched one that his Uncle Jessie wore a lot. Simon thought he looked "absolutely smashing" in his new clothes, and wished him good luck on his first day of school.

That was just about the same time that Simon dropped the bombshell on his Mom and Uncle Roderick. Simon was talking about skipping college and traveling around the world instead. Sarah thought it sounded exciting, and got a little caught up in the conversation and all the places that Simon wanted to travel. But Roderick didn't like what his nephew had planned for his future and wanted to make sure that Simon didn't do anything that he would later regret.

Roderick pulled his nephew aside and asked him what his life long plan was. Simon only replied "I want to be rich". Roderick made some good points to Simon...about college being a one time opportunity - about all the scholarships that he most likely already qualified for - about the great jobs he could get with a degree, that he can't get without one. Seeing that Simon was a bit bored, he made sure to mention that there were lots of cute girls on campus too. Simon thought about it for a minute, then promised his uncle that he'd think about it before making any final travel plans.

Roderick was concerned about his nephew. At breakfast the next morning, he talked to Kimberly and asked her opinion. She agreed that he should go to college now while he has such a good opportunity, and thought that Roderick handled it well. Roderick commented that the boy would learn one way or another. As much as he loved having Simon here, if he wasn't in college when he turned 18, then Roderick was prepared to tell him that he'd have to learn life's lessons the hard way - by moving out on his own. Kimberly had other things to attend to though...she was pretty sure she heard Graham crying.

Graham was crying all right. He was hungry and wanted to play with his Mommy. When Kimberly carried him out into the kitchen for breakfast, Roderick got his first look at his son as a toddler. Holy cow, he had no more babies left. The thought made Roderick feel a little sick. All of his kids were growing up. He loved having babies in the house and was missing them already. Well - only one thing for Roderick to do...

...get Kimberly back in the hot tub. They definitely have that "let's make a baby or two" look on their faces, don't they?

(Eight tries later and STILL no baby chime! Ugh. Keep your fingers crossed for these two!)

<- SATELLITE UPDATES / A STRANGER COMES TO TOWN ->

Ch. 22 - Satellite Updates

2006-04-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

Amelia & Matthew:
Amelia had gotten to be pretty good friends with her sister-in-law, Kimberly. They often had lunch together and spent time chit-chatting about various things. Kimberly was eager to have her baby (babies?), and Amelia saw that as a chance to talk about - what else - herself. She told Kimberly all about when she went into labor with Alyson and how they had to walk through 4 feet of snow to get to the hospital in time. Kimberly later shared with another friend that the term "B.S." was running through her head as she listened to Amelia's story, since they lived in the desert and it never snowed there. At least it was an entertaining conversation.

Amelia had many ways of entertaining herself. She went dancing with her friends...

...and liked to warm her bum by the fire. Whatever kept our new Hollywood Icon happy, is what she did. She was so busy being happy (aka: in the hot tub) that she didn't notice when Alyson left for college.

Climbing out of the hot tub that night, Matthew realized that he wasn't as young as he used to be. Maybe a trip to the chiropractor would do that back of his some good.

When Amelia teased him about being an old man, he pointed out to her that she was no spring chicken either. She gave herself the once-over and announced "Yeah, but I still look hot!".

(Matthew got his LTW by being promoted to Chief of Staff. Amelia is on Dream Date #46 - almost there!)

Lizzie & Jessie:
Little Leif was getting sick of being a little kid. All he heard was "Do your homework! Clean your room! Make your bed! Take a bath!". He couldn't wait to grow up and do whatever he wanted to do...and all of it would be sheer fun.

Leif wasn't the only one that was ready to grow up. Mace was looking forward to being able to do everything that his big brother could do. Liza Jane cheered him on as he prepared to make the transformation.

In a flash, Mace was a boy. Liza Jane was a little surprised though to see her youngest brother wearing her old pink pajamas. She also decided that he was due for a much needed hair cut. Mace didn't care about that, he was just happy to be able to use the big boy potty now instead of that stupid little red one. He had noticed now different he looked from his older brother and sister. Why didn't he have red hair like everyone else in the family? Why didn't he look anything like his Daddy? Mace was starting to feel like the odd-ball in the family.

Mace (after the makeover) never felt like an odd ball when he was with his best friend, cousin Catherine (you'll see her grow up in the next post). They loved hanging out together, playing Tag and Mary Mack. He also loved going over to his Uncle Roderick's house because he had so much neat stuff there - a pinball machine, a piano and his very own bowling alley!

Liza Jane had the same complaints as her brother Leif. She had to keep her grades up, get a job, and keep up with her chores around the house. Plus, she was constantly cleaning up after her mom who was a bit of a slob. It didn't leave her with much free time, but what little free time she had, she made the most of. It only took one date with David to get her first kiss and for him to ask her to go steady. She said yes, but wonders if that was a smart move. She can't help herself from thinking about all the other boys at school too...

(Liza Jane is a Romance teen with a LTW to be a Professional Party Guest. She is currently a Gas Station Attendant.)

Finally, Leif got what he wanted - to be a teenager. He kept to his word too, and did only fun things. He stopped making his bed, slacked off a bit on his homework, and didn't help out much around the house. His Mom & Dad were constantly nagging him about it and Leif couldn't wait to turn 18 and be able to move out on his own.

(Leif is a Pleasure teen with a LTW to be a Celebrity Chef. His makeover is coming soon!)

<- THE MESSAGE IS SENT / KEEP 'EM COMING! ->

Ch. 21 - The Message Is Sent

2006-03-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

Sarah was a little scared by the message her father sent her. Heck, she didn't even know if that was real or not. Maybe she was going crazy. Maybe she was driving herself crazy from the guilt of stealing her little brothers rightful inheritance. Maybe she should see a shrink or something...maybe she should check herself into the hospital. No, she just needed to talk to Quinten.

She tried calling Quinten at work, but they said he never showed up that day. That was odd. Quinten loved his work and it was very unlike him to just not go to work. Even if he did skip work, where was he? She tried calling his cell phone, but when it started ringing through the phone, she could also hear it ringing from the other room. Quinten definitely wouldn't skip work, then leave his cell phone on the dresser. She was getting worried. Then it hit her. Was Quinten having an affair? No no, Quinten couldn't be cheating on her...could he?

Sarah was starting to get mad at the thought of Quinten cheating on her. Who could he be cheating with? Maybe it's that floozy from the restaurant. She did catch him looking at her. Maybe it's his brothers bimbo girlfriend. Sarah wouldn't put it past her at all to date a married man. Whoever it is, they were going to feel the wrath of this woman scorned when Quinten finally gets his butt home. After she was done with his little bimbo, she was going to tear into Quinten. Whatever was left of him, his little floozy could have.

Sarah waited up all night, but Quinten never came home. She finally went to bed with the realization that Quinten must have left her. The turd didn't even have the common decency to leave her a note. Now she had to figure out how to tell their son, Simon.

Sarah had no way of knowing just how wrong she was on what had happened to Quinten.

Kimberly went out to the storage shed to see if they had an extra pack of diapers out there, but found something that she hadn't bargained on. Kimberly ran from the shed screaming, but the sight of the lifeless Quinten was too much for this pregnant woman to stand and she ended up fainting just outside the door.

Roderick heard his wife scream and ran to see what was wrong. He found her laying on the ground and the door to the storage shed open. Once he got Kimberly in bed, he went to explore the storage shed...and found Quinten. Roderick called the police and the paramedics, but it was too late for his friend. Poor Quinten had locked himself in the storage shed and had been out there for days before Kimberly found him.

Sarah got the message loud and clear. She shouldn't have taken advantage of her own flesh and blood. She felt awful about what she had done to Roderick. Life, she'd learned, was precious. Her family was precious. She had to make things right with Roderick. She had to give him what was his and take whatever consequences come with her admission.

Sarah called Roderick outside for some privacy, and told him the whole story. She explained how she panicked when she read the letter. She told him how much she loves the family home and how broken hearted she would be if she had to leave. Roderick had enough on his plate, and couldn't handle his sister's guilt. He got angry and yelled at her, "My wife is very pregnant. She got the shock of her life today which has left her under her doctors care, at risk for losing our baby and ordered to bed. Meanwhile I have a full time job with a lot of responsibilities, two toddlers to raise by myself until my wife is better, and a house to run. To top it off, I had already discovered that my sister, who I always adored, was stealing from me! The only reason you're still here is because I can't decide if I should kick you out or not! So I don't have time for your guilt Sarah. You should have thought about that before you conned me out of what Daddy Ridgeway (aka: their grandfather) wanted me to have!", and he stormed off.

Sarah broke down in tears. She had lost everything. Not just her beloved home but most importantly, her brother. Roderick heard her crying and peeked back around the corner. He felt bad for her, knowing how broken hearted she was over the loss of Quinten. Still, he couldn't deny his anger towards her. Then his father's words ran through his head, almost as if he were standing right next to him whispering in his ear, "Family is the one thing that is always true, that you can always count on, and that you can never replace". Roderick then knew what he needed to do, and went inside to talk it over with Kimberly.

After making sure that he had his wife's support in his decision, he went to find Sarah. Roderick told his sister that she had hurt him, his wife and his children with her actions. She had dishonored the memory of their father & their grandfather. Having said that though, she was still his sister and he still loved her. Sarah and her family were welcome to stay at Ridgeway Estates, and they would put all of this behind them. Sarah was speechless. All she could say utter out was "Roddy...".

Roderick then mentioned that he happened to be a Mad Scientist and just might be able to come up with a way to ressurect her dead husband. Of course he couldn't guarantee that he would come back as a human, per say. His last experiment with bringing the dead back to life had to do with the dead fern in his office. Then let out a horrible evil laugh...*MWAHAHAHA!* Sarah cracked a nervous smile and simply said "Ummm, ok?".

<- RODERICK STARTS A FAMILY / SATELLITE UPDATES ->

Ch. 20 - Roderick Starts a Family

2006-03-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

Things were going well for Roderick. He was enjoying living at home with Sarah and her family and was looking forward to starting his own family with this new wife Kimberly. Things were going well at work too, as Roderick had worked his way up the corporate ladder and was now a Mad Scientist. His favorite perk to his new job...the cool new robotic hand he got to sport. Neato, isn't it?

Things were going well for Kimberly too. As you can see, the night in the hot tub was successful and she was expecting their first child together. Although she was very big and was getting very uncomfortable, Kimberly still liked doing things around the house, including the little things like getting the mail. On this day, Kimberly discovered a letter addressed to her husband from some attorney. Although her curiousity was peaked, she decided to put it on the table for Roderick. She'd make sure to tell him about it when he got home from work that night.

Kimberly wouldn't have a chance to let Roderick know about the letter. She went into labor just a few hours later. They told her about the labor pains in her Lamazze classes, but OH WOW did it HURT! Her deceased mother-in-law, Jan (background), seemed to be enjoying watching her daughter-in-law go through the pain of childbirth. It's handy living with a doctor though, and Sarah stayed by her side and helped her through the whole delivery.

Kimberly was so glad that it was over when her new son, Christopher, finally was born. He had his Daddy's red hair and brown eyes. Just when Kimberly thought it was all over, Sarah informed her that she had more work to do.

A few minutes later, daughter Catherine was born. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, which Kimberly later told Roderick is the same color of her sister's hair and eyes.

(For some reason Kimberly had Christopher inside, then went outside to have Catherine!)

Unfortunately Roderick was still at work and missed the whole thing. He got home just after Catherine arrived, but quickly took over care of both infants so that Kimberly could get some much needed sleep. Roderick has been an excellent father, and has paid a great deal of attention to his twins. He feeds them, bathes them, plays with them, cuddles them, changes their diapers and talks to them. Note: This is all stuff he does automatically with no work on my part!

After the excitement of the twins birth had died down a bit, Kimberly remembered about the letter she'd left on the table for Roderick. Right when Roderick saw who the letter was from, he was both anxious and eager to read what was inside. When he did, he was shocked. He thought that there must be a mistake...this couldn't be right. There was only one thing to do - call the attorney himself.

One phone call cleared the whole thing up for Roderick. His big sister, the one that he'd looked up to his whole life, had been lying to him. She'd claimed his inheritance as her own. Sarah was stealing from him. Roderick was shocked and broken hearted. What made her do something like this? It seemed so out of character for her. Kimberly wanted him to kick Sarah out immediately, but Roderick needed some time to think.

Time passed, and the kids were growing up. Simon (Sarah and Quinten's son) was a teenager and the twins were toddlers. Simon helped his little cousin Catherine transition into a toddler. Meanwhile Roderick, the always-attentive father, was in the bedroom with Christopher and helped him transition into a toddler. All this growing up left Roderick wanting another baby.

As you can see, he and Kimberly wasted no time with pregnancy number two. He was even wishing for twins again, although Kimberly wanted a single birth this time, but only because it meant less labor pains and fewer diapers to change.

Roderick wasn't the only one that had figured out what Sarah was doing. He wasn't the only one that was upset about it either. Jebidiah didn't approve of how his oldest child was handling his last requests (or should we say "not handling" them?) and made his distain for the situation be well known to Sarah. Seems that ole Jeb liked to pick on Sarah...now we know why.

According to family legend, this time would be different from the other times that Jebidiah had spooked Sarah. This time, he spoke to her. From the notes that were scribbled in her diary, it appears as if he said "You have gone against your ancestors. They are very angry. You will hear their message. The wheels are in motion." At that time, Sarah couldn't figure out the cryptic message. But Sarah would soon learn this lesson that her ancestors wished upon her..and it was a very hard lesson.

<- CHANGES FOR AMELIA / THE MESSAGE IS SENT ->

Ch. 19 - Changes for Amelia

2006-03-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

Amelia & Matthew's only child, Alyson, had grown up into a teenager. Neither Mom or Dad could tell you exactly when it happened. It seemed like one minute she was still their little girl, wanting to sit on Daddy's lap for play dolls with Mommy, and the next minute she was a teenager, asking for a cell phone and wanting to talk to boys. It was hard for Alyson to be the daughter of such a famous actress though. She wasn't sure if people were interested in being her friend because they liked her, or because liked her mom. Luckily she has her Dad to talk to and she still enjoys the hours they spend together doing things like stargazing or playing games.

(Alyson has a Knowledge aspiration with a LTW to Become a Mad Scientist)

Matthew is getting a little concerned about Amelia and her frequent trips to the plastic surgeon. He thinks she's getting addicted to the process, but she insists that she only does what's necessary for her image as a Leading Lady. This is Amelia after a second nose job, chin job, cheek implants, more lip work and a face lift (notice the eyes are lifted up a little more?). After this, she walked around with a bit of a goofy grin on her face all the time, but she claimed to love the look, since she didn't have to work so hard to constantly smile anymore.

But Amelia didn't stop there. At the advice of her publicist, she had extensions put in her hair, and started dressing a little more provocatively. She certainly turns a few heads when she walks in a room now.

(If you remember, Amelia is a Pleasure Seeking Sim and has a LTW to have 50 Dream Dates. Even though she is happily married, she hasn't given up her goal and is still sneaking in some dates. She's currently at #31 with her One Night Dream Dates record currently at 4! Yes - she had 4 Dream Dates in one night, in a row with 4 different guys...whew! She'd go one place, finish the date, drive someplace else, ask another guy out, finish the date, etc. This chick is a LOT of work! *LOL*)

Meanwhile, Matthew was still working long hours and had been promoted yet again, this time to Surgeon. He had no clue who all those men were that kept calling the house.

The life of a big star wasn't always fun and games. It came with some unwanted attention too. One day when Amelia had stopped by Ridgeway Estates to see her sister Sarah and brother Roderick, she ran into her brother-in-law Quinten. Amelia and Quinten were friends, so she enjoyed talking to him and joking around with him. This day, Quinten would take it too far though when he commented on how lucky Matthew was for marrying the pretty sister. All Amelia could utter out was "Oh no you didn't!". As Amelia walked away, she could hear Quinten calling out to her, "What?! What did I say?!". She always knew that Quinten wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch, but this proved it.

<- SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT HERE / RODERICK STARTS A FAMILY ->

Ch. 18 - Something's Not Right Here

2006-03-28T09:23:00.000-08:00

Lizzie was expecting another baby and was, as you can see in this shot, pretty happy about it. Even though Lizzie and Jessie had decided to stop after the birth of their son Leif, one more little surprise was always welcomed in her eyes. Perhaps she's smiling because this gives her another reason to re-decorate a room. They had just bought their new house and there was no decorated nursery...yet. Hopefully Lizzie learned her lesson and kept the colors neutral, instead of doing all pink again.

Lizzie hoped to have plenty of help around the house now that little Liza Jane wasn't so little anymore. She had grown up into a beautiful, but spunky, teenager. Lizzie and Jessie were a little concerned about their daughter though. The girl that was once such an eager and fast learner, was now losing her interest in school. She seemed to replace that with a strong attraction to boys and dating. Mom and Dad were a little concerned about her dating habits, but they were keeping their eye on her. (The water on the floor is from a water balloon that her brother had just influenced his friend to throw at her)

The time finally came for the baby to arrive. By now Lizzie was a pro. A little heavy breathing & a push or two is all it took. Little Mace Lind was born - happy and healthy. Liza Jane was obviously very excited to have another baby brother. Jessie, however, was a little confused on one thing...

"Where did the brown hair come from?"

Hmmm...good question Jessie. Very good question.

<- ROD & KIM; THE WEDDING / CHANGES FOR AMELIA ->

Ch. 17 - Rod & Kim; The Wedding

2006-03-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

As much as Roderick loved college, he was glad to be home again. He missed his home, his sister Sarah and her family. He did have a few questions for her though about his fathers estate, and he thought it was best to talk to her over a nice breakfast. After he finished the Spanish Omelets, he finally told her what was bugging him. His dad had once told him that the house would be left to him, but he still hadn't heard anything from the lawyer and he was starting to get a little concerned. "No sweetie, you're confused. Daddy left you all that money. He left the house to me since I'm the oldest. ", Sarah assured him. Roderick was certain that his father wouldn't have told him that unless it was true, but he knew Sarah wouldn't lie to him either so he decided to just leave it as it was. Besides, the most important thing was that he was home and with his family. Sarah just went back to eating and didn't say another word to her brother the rest of the day.

Kimberly liked her new home. She liked Sarah and her family and liked being with Roderick. She was busy making wedding plans though so she didn't have as much time to socialize with everyone as she wished she would. The day before the wedding, Kimberly went into town for a last-minute dress fitting and to double check the flower order & the menu order. She also got a facial, manicure, pedicure and a hair cut. She came out looking great, feeling fabulous and excited about her wedding.

The big event couldn't have happened on a more perfect day. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. Although Kimberly's only sister couldn't make it into town, Roderick's whole family was at the ceremony: Roderick's sister Sarah, her husband Quinten, their son Simon, and Roderick's sister Amelia (Lizzie was there, but left because she was hungry, the dingbat). The wedding was beautiful and Kimberly was pretty sure she saw tears in Roderick's eyes, although he won't admit it.

After the vows, Roderick cut the cake and gently fed it to his new wife. It's a good thing too because she would have kicked his butt if he had messed up her makeup or her hair...

Meanwhile poor little Simon was so tired from the long day of wedding preparations (his parents even made him bathe), all he wanted to do was sleep. They found him later sound asleep underneath the buffet table.

Later that night, Roderick told Kimberly that he didn't want to wait to start a family, and she wholeheartedly agreed. Good luck you two!

The possibility of being pregnant didn't stop Kimberly from putting a stop to the constant stalking of their ex-House Brother, Blair. She had seen him outside of the house on many occasions - just standing there staring at her. She even saw him outside of the church during the wedding. She had heard the rumors that he had gone a little crazy, and she didn't want him anywhere around her, her family or her home. Once she was done beating the tar out of him, he promised to leave them alone, but Kimberly wasn't convinced. She'd have to keep her eye on him.

It didn't take long for the job offers to start rolling in for a smart guy like Roderick. He was in high demand and finally accepted the position of Theorist at the same lab that he worked at as a teenager. He figured that with such a prestigious job, he should probably go for an older, more responsible look. After all, he had looked the same since he was a young teenager...it was certainly time for a change. He started by cutting his hair then added a moustache to it, which was Kimberly's suggestion since she liked the way his "tickler" felt when she kissed him. She did miss his hair though, and made sure that he knew that she needed his long hair back so that she had something to run her fingers through. Bossy little thing isn't she?

<- COLLEGE DAZE / SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT HERE ->

Ch. 16 - College Daze

2006-03-27T04:12:00.000-08:00

(Note from author: I don't enjoy the college years as much as I do the rest of the game, so I tend to play it straight through. This one, however, had a bit of a story attached to it so I did put a little more effort into Roderick's college years than I do most. You'll get a taste of that story in this blog, but the entire story will be posted when "the truth comes out". *hehe*).

Roderick was enjoying college and was doing very well. He found the work pretty easy, being such a smart and well-educated guy already. It was almost a little too easy and Roderick was getting a bit bored. So he did what any bored super-smart guy in college would do. He started his own Fraternity; Alpha Beta Kappa. Kimberly was excited about the idea as well, so they decided to make it a CoEd Greek House.

Kimberly and Roderick found the perfect house on campus. It was big enough to hold 20 members. They applied for the charter, paid the fee, put up the letters, and started welcoming new members. The initiation ceremony was pretty simple. All you had to do was recite the Constitution...in Latin...while twirling a basketball on your finger. Yeah, pretty simple.

Kimberly was doing ok in school, although she had been placed on Academic Probation for one semester. She seemed to enjoy her cooking classes the most and loved showing off what she'd learned to her friends and House Brothers & Sisters. She even managed to cook Crepes Suzette without setting herself on fire...impressive.

Of course they had parties too...lots and lots of parties (which is probably why Kimberly didn't do so well that one semester). That Smustle dance is pretty addictive. Not one person managed to escape from it's rapture. From left to right here are House Brothers & Sisters: Kimberly, Viola, Nathan (pink sweater, before his makeover), Roderick and Blair. The only one not dancing was Ramin, who was at class. They all got along pretty well, some of them got along very well. By the end of the year Nathen and Viola had been engaged. Blair had a little romance of his own going, although he hadn't let on to anyone who he had been seeing yet. All that was about to change though.

Blair was in love and he couldn't deny it any longer. He finally made the decision to propose to his true love, Prof. Ivy Barthelet. She happily accepted, but they agreed to keep it a secret until Blair graduated since she could lose her job if the Board of Ed found out. They really frowned on Teacher/Student relationships and even though she knew she was risking everything, Blair was worth it.

A few days later while playing chess with Nathen (after his makeover), the subject of "wouldn't it be fun to date a Prof?" came up. Blair just had to tell his best friend. Nathen congratulated him on hooking up with one of the hottest Professors on campus, then they went back to playing their game. Although Blair was also best friends with Roderick, he decided not to tell him. If Ivy found out, she'd be really ticked. Afterall, he made her a promise and now he's broken it. He wanted to talk to her so badly but every time he called, he got her answering machine. Over time Blair tried and tried to get in touch with his fiancee, but she seemed to have dropped out of sight. Just where did she go and why?

Graduation day came for Roderick and Kimberly. Roderick had breezed through his college career, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. Kimberly had managed to pull herself up out of her slump and graduated with a 3.6 GPA. They had a big party, then left together to start their new life back at Ridgeway Estates.

Time went on and Blair eventually gave up on seeing his fiancee again. The police considered her as an adult who left town on her own accord, and found no evidence of foul play. Blair felt differently though. He was sure something happened to Ivy, but he couldn't find anything concrete to give to the police. They were patient with his inquiries, but he could tell that they thought he was simply a man in denial. If he could just see her one more time...if he could just talk to her...

My mother always said "Be careful what you wish for because it just might come true". Blair's wish to see his fiancee again, was about to come true.

Ivy came to visit her fiance all right, but not like he wished she would. One night while gazing at the stars, she jumped right out at him. Blair would never be the same again. He stopped going to class, missed his exams and ended up getting expelled from college. Rumors were floating around that he had settled down in Strangetown, but nobody had actually seen him there so that remained a just a rumor.

Not only did Ivy mean to scare Blair, but she seemed mad as a hornet and determined to haunt Alpha Beta Kappa and all of it's residents, as seen by these pictures:

The case of Ivy's disappearance went into the Cold Case files and was forgotten about for years and years, until...

(to be continued...)

<- RODERICK'S UPDATE / ROD & KIM; THE WEDDING ->

Ch. 14 - Lizzie's Update

2006-03-24T17:37:00.001-08:00

Lizzie and Jessie really loved their new home and were getting to meet their new neighbors. It seemed though, that even when they were entertaining their new friends that they had something else on their minds. They were eager to start a family, and everyone knew it.

It didn't take long for Lizzie to become pregnant. It wasn't a hard pregnancy, but it was a tiring one and Lizzie had to take off of work for most of it. Several months later, little Liza Jane was born. She was the apple of her Daddy's eye and they spent a lot of time together ... well, at least a lot of the time that he was home. Jessie put in a lot of really long hours at work and it paid off. He was promoted through the ranks from Desk Sargeant all the way up to SWAT Team Leader. Meanwhile, now that her sister Sarah had been promoted up to Medical Researcher, Lizzie finally got the position of Specialist that she had always wanted. It was hard filling Sarah's shoes, but Lizzie knew a lot about a lot of things and that came in handy many times.

Somehow, even with their tough work schedules, Jessie and Lizzie managed to find enough time to make little baby # 2. Lizzie wanted another little girl and had decorated the room in all pink. Jessie thought she was jumping the gun, since he was hoping for a boy this time. He thought one of each would be perfect. Lizzie informed him that she's a girl maker and she'd, without a doubt, be having a girl. She even picked out a name for her daughter - Lauren May.

By now Liza Jane had grown up into a toddler. What a beauty she was with her parents red hair and her daddy's green eyes. She was a fast learner and learned her potty training, walking and talking all in one day. People were expecting big things from this amazing little girl.

Jessie was still working long, odd hours and Lizzie was getting too uncomfortable to do much of the housework anymore, so she had to rely on her powers of persuasion for some of it. She once told a passerby, a man named Abhijeet Cho, that she was told by Jenny Smith that nobody trimmed a bush like he did. He fell for it (the fool), and did her whole garden for her.

The day came, and the new baby was born. To Lizzie's surprise, it was a boy. Knowing that "Lauren May" wouldn't work for a boy, Jessie picked out the new name for his son - Leif. Lizzie got right to work on redecorating the kids room so that it would work for both of their kids.

Of course children tend to grow up, and that's what these two did:

Here's Liza Jane as a little girl showing how she likes to play "I'm a Little Teapot".

She's very proud of herself for having remembered the whole song.

Leif grew up into a handsome little toddler - another little red headed child but this time with his mommy's brown eyes. He was a fast learner as well, although not quite as fast as his big sister. That's something that could cause a lot of sibling rivalry between Big Sis & Lil Bro. Let's hope that Jessie and Lizzie kept on top of that situation.

<- AMELIA'S UPDATE / RODERICK'S UPDATE ->

Ch. 15 - Roderick's Update

2006-03-24T17:37:00.000-08:00

Roderick had become the talk of the family lately. He was mastering almost every subject he studied from art to music to cooking to health, and many more. The last fight that he had with his mother before her death had been ringing through his head...it was something he just couldn't forget. He was feeling guilty for arguing about whether he should go to college or not, and now was re-thinking his decision. Heck, he had already been accepted to Academie Le Tour, been awarded several scholarships including the Quigly Visual Arts Award, the Hogan Award for Athletics, the Will Wright Genius Award, the Orphaned Sims Assistance Fund, the SimCity Scholar Award, the London Culinary Arts Award, the Bui Engineering Award, the Bain-Gordon Communications Fellowship Award, the Young Entepeneurs Award (for his work at the lab), and the Kim Metro Prize for Hygenics. He realized that it would be a shame to waste all that money, so he decided to just dive on it (pardon the pun).

Of course what would college be without his beloved Kim with him? She had also been planning on going away to college, and had been trying to earn some money for tuition when Roderick had met her at the clothing store. They signed up together and started classes on the same day. When the college heard that they were getting yet another Ridgeway as a student, they reserved the same house on campus for Roderick that his sisters had stayed in when they were students there. Kimberly hadn't even moved her things in to her dorm room when Roderick asked if she wanted to stay with him at his house. He had mixed feelings about the house. At first he was a little put off by the pink windows and pink door, but he figured he could live with it for 4 short years. Plus, Kimberly really liked it and if she was happy, Roderick was happy. Roderick & Kimberly were both majoring in Biology.

Meanwhile back at Ridgeway Estates, Sarah received a letter in the mail. It was from her parents attorney. It seemed that Sarah wasn't the main heir to their estate as she thought. Roderick was. According to the letter, Jebidiah shared a story about a promise that he had made to his dying father back in Scotland. The promise was that the Ridgeway name would remain solid, always had a good reputation attached to it, and continued on. For this reason only their sole son, Roderick, would be the main heir to their estate. Although Sarah and Quinten had been doing well for themselves and certainly could live without the money from their parents, Sarah loved Ridgeway Estates and couldn't bear the thought of having to turn it over to anyone else, even her little brother. She had questions, but since her parents were both gone, who would she ask them to? Did they not love the girls as much as they did their son? Why didn't they tell them about this before they had both died? Why keep it a secret then spring it on everyone? Then she got mad. Thoughts raced through her mind; This is her house darn it! She was the first born! Everyone knows that the first born is the natural heir!

Then a thought hit Sarah. She was the only one that knew about this letter. Maybe...just maybe...she didn't have to show it to anyone or even tell anyone about it. She could call the attorney, thank him for letting her know, convince him that once Roderick is out of college he would come by and sign the necessary papers (which would at least stall the process for 4 yrs while she thought of another plan), then "lose" the letter. There was only one more question in Sarah's mind...did she have it in her to pull this off?

<- LIZZIE'S UPDATE / COLLEGE DAZE ->

Ch. 13 - Amelia's Update

2006-03-24T17:36:00.001-08:00

Amelia hated being pregnant. She felt fat. She hated the clothes that she had to wear. She was always tired. She did nothing but eat, sleep and eat again. Her back hurt, her feet were swollen and she felt like her stomach was going to explode from stretching so far. The thought of labor scared her, so she signed up for Lamazze classes with Matthew. Amelia ended up dropping out after the first class. There was no way she was going to be seen huffing and puffing like that...how ridiculous. She couldn't believe people actually fell for that crap.

A few months later, Amelia wished she had stuck around. The pain was unbearable and she was quoted as saying "I changed my mind! I don't want to have a baby anymore!". Too bad it didn't work that way.

After some frantic huffing and puffing, a lot of screams and some good drugs from the midwife, little Alyson was born. She had the most captivating blue eyes. Amelia and Matthew immediately fell in love with their precious new daughter. Alyson was a good baby, and was well loved by everyone in the house. Her parents couldn't believe how quickly she grew into a precocious little toddler.

Uncle Quinten helped Alyson with the transition from being a baby to becoming a toddler. He was the first to help her learn to use the potty, but in the end it would be her father, Matthew, that would actually potty train her. He also taught her to talk and to walk. She loved living in the big house with her big family.

She also loved her Aunt Sarah, who helped comfort little Alyson when the scary man came to take her Gramma Jan away to live with her Grampa Jebidiah in someplace that her mommy called "Heaven". It sounded like a very pretty and happy place for her Gramma and Grampa to be living in.

There were times when Alyson would crawl outside on the patio and see her mommy, Amelia, sitting on the ground, staring up into the sky and smiling. She wondered what her mommy was smiling at, but you can be sure that Amelia was thinking of her parents and smiling up at them.

It wasn't long after the death of Jan that Amelia and Matthew decided that it was time that they moved out. Matthew had been promoted at work to a Nurse, and the pay was finally enough to afford a nice little house. It seems that in their excitement, Amelia and Matthew forgot to put one of their most prized possessions in the cab with them...

Little Alyson was seen toddling away from Ridgeway Estates to her new house to live with her Mommy and Daddy. Even though she was walking in the opposite direction of her new home, she eventually made it there safe and sound.

It didn't take long for Amelia to start making friends. In this picture she's in the hot tub (one of her favorite places to be) with Jenny Smith, Jenny's husband Pollination Tech #9 Smith, and Olive Spector. It's believed she was telling them about her husband Matthew, who was in the medical field to which Jenny replied "Isn't he a Murse?". Amelia was quick to answer that although he was a Male Nurse, he was now a General Practioner.

Amelia ended up being discovered while she was shopping, just like she had predicted. She's now a well loved Broadway Star and loves the job, the publicity, the fans and of course, the money. Along with the job comes the pressure to look "perfect", so Amelia and Matthew had a little "nip and tuck" done to their faces. We found some Before & After shots of both Matthew and Amelia:

Matthew had a nose job, his chin straightened, a lip injection and some work done on his eyes.

Amelia had her chin fixed and had a nose job. Talk about your Movie Star looks!

Alyson had grown into a precious little girl. Like the rest of the Ridgeway kids, she was a good student and a likable child. She had formed a strong bond with her Aunt Sarah, who enjoyed coming over after work to play chess with Alyson.

<- SARAH'S UPDATE / LIZZIE'S UPDATE ->

Ch. 12 - Sarah's Update

2006-03-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

I always wondered what was running through Sarah's mind when this picture was taken. Recently my mother told me that this was when Sarah had found out that she was pregnant with her first child. She sure did look shocked eh? Regardless, both Sarah and Quinten were excited to be having a baby and wasted no time in preparing the nursery. Before long though, Sarah was getting tired of being pregnant and was counting the days until her little one would be born. The days seemed to be dragging by.

One night, as Sarah was climbing into the tub for a relaxing bubble bath, she was shocked by what jumped out at her. It was the ghost of her father, Jebidiah. Nobody knows why he would do this to his very pregnant daughter. He was a very happy man in life, but seems to be a bit of a prankster in death. Sarah wouldn't be the last person he'd scare the dickens out of in this family.

The shock of seeing her father was just what Sarah needed to send her into labor. Before long, little Simon was born. He was a spitting image of his daddy, born with his dark hair and dark eyes...certainly not the usual green eyed, red haired baby in this family! (Notice anything in the background of this image? Somebody doesn't look happy!)

Just after Simon was born (literally!), Jeb was at it again. This time he got Sarah outside on the patio. Some speculate that he didn't like the work that the family had done on the house. Others thought that he wasn't happy with his burial plot or his funeral. Some thought that Jeb was just mad that he was dead. Either way, scaring your daughter when she's 9 mos pregnant and putting her in labor, then getting her a few minutes later just after she's had a baby is downright mean in my book. Bad Jeb. Quinten didn't notice a thing. He was only concerned with how tired he was and how badly he wanted to go to bed.

He'd get his share of the ghostly taunts though, as you can see from these images that we found stuffed in the back of a book. Seems like ole Quinten didn't want anyone seeing this pictures:

Jeb got him when he was walking outside to play with his son.

Jan got him while he was looking at the stars.

She scared him so badly, he wet his pants. Notice, the pee spot is a few feet away? Neat trick Quinten.

Quinten wasn't a bad guy, although it has been told that he was a bit lazy. Many stories have been passed along about how Quinten wouldn't eat until he was practically starving to death, then he'd just stand around groaning and begging for someone to feed him. Sarah didn't fall into his laziness though and she figured when he got hungry enough he'd feed himself. She was right of course... he always ended up fixing himself some food.

The one thing Quinten did get up off his duff to attempt to do, was fix the trash compactor. Sarah told him that it was a bad idea and a very dangerous thing for someone with little training to do, but he insisted. He would regret it after the major shock he got. If Quinten had more training, he would have known to shut the power off before he started messing around in there. The shock turned out to be not nearly as bad as it looked, although he did lose a good bit of facial hair from it. Luckily it grew back. Quinten decided that it was time for a new look anyway, so he got his hair cut and grew out a thin 'stache and goatee. The added bonus is that they covered up the scars he got from the shock. He was pretty pleased with the new look, as you can see from these pictures that we actually found framed and were believed to be hanging in Quinten and Sarah's bedroom at one point:

Meanwhile Simon had grown up from a toddler to a young boy. He was doing very well in school, was a good learner, was making friends, and minded his parents. He loved living with his Auntie Amelia, Uncle Matthew and Uncle Roderick & his cousin (who you will meet in the next post) and hoped that things would never change.

<- JAN'S UPDATE / AMELIA'S UPDATE ->

Ch. 11 - Jan's Update

2006-03-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

**Authors Note: Between a seriously ill child at home and a case of writers block (probably from lack of sleep), I haven't updated my blog and am now seriously behind in updates on the Ridgeway family. Alas, it's "Mass Update Time", again from the point of view of our 10th Generation Ridgeway Heir/Heiress. I've done one chapter for each family member that needs an update since one mass update would have been too long. Below, you'll find the first update. Enjoy.

Jan:
(Intestesting shot eh?) Jan had been keeping herself busy since Jeb's death. Two of the new tricks she'd learned were how to whistle with her fingers, and how to stand inside the couch. We could never figure that one out.

Even with all of her new hobbies (painting and gardening mostly), she still missed Jeb and wished that they were back together. This is also the time when all the pictures we have of her show her in her bathing suit. Was she simply more comfortable or did she just not care anymore? Maybe she was just spending a lot of time in the hot tub.

Jan (who's wearing her bathing suit again) had become an expert painter, and was enjoying painting portraits of her children. She had plans to have one portrait of each of her children hanging in her house. Sarah had already had her portrait painted while in college by her sister Lizzie, so Jan started with a portrait of Amelia, who was very pregnant at the time and - as you can tell - very uncomfortable. The portrait turned out really well though and Amelia was very happy with it. It still hangs in the Ridgeway Estates.

Sadly, nobody every got to paint a portrait of Jan, who died before Lizzie could pick up her expert paint brush. Her death was slightly strange, as she died at the age of 70 and in the kitchen, under the exact circumstances and at the exact age as her late husband, Jebidiah. We've always wondered - coincidence or planned? This was the last picture taken of Jan. She looks rather sad and is talking to someone that's really creepy looking. Are those bones for fingers that this guy has? I always thought that this was Death calling for her and that she looked sad because she didn't want to go. My mother thinks that Jan was sad because she missed her husband, and was asking Death to take her to be with him. My mother can be a bit melodramatic at times though. I say the proof that she wanted to stay with her children is in the following picture, but again my mother argues that Jan is sad because she can't find Jeb in the afterlife. You decide...

Either way, Jan was certainly missed. She was survived by her children Sarah, Amelia, Lizzie and Roderick; sons-in-law Quinten, Matthew and Jessie and 3 grandchildren that you'll meet in the next posts.

<- RODERICK GROWS UP / SARAH'S UPDATE ->

Ch. 10 - Roderick Grows Up

2006-03-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

The girls have been so busy and have done so many things, that we were almost overlooking little Roderick. Well little Roderick ain't so little anymore. He had grown up into a handsome teen, ready to take on the world. He liked hanging out with his brother-in-law Matthew, and they often compared muscle size.

Roderick was spending most of his free time concentrating on his quest for knowledge. He remembered his father telling him that there is no such thing as a person who knows everything, and to always leave your mind open to learn more. He was finding the concept of outer space fascinating and enjoyed spending his evenings on the telescope. Jan wanted to do something nice for Roderick, and convinced him to go with Amelia on one of her shopping trips. Begrudgingly, he went along. He'd be glad that he did too.

While Amelia was looking at girly stuff, Roderick wandered over to look at clothes. It was here that he met Kimberly, the store clerk. She asked him what he was looking for, and helped him pick out an outfit. He found her easy to talk to and very intelligent, not to mention how beautiful she was. An hour later, Amelia came into the store looking for him. He didn't realize that the time had flown by so fast. He left with a promise to call Kimberly the next day.

When they got home, his brother-in-law Quinten decided to tease him a little bit. "Hey Rod, you think you can top these muscles?", he said as he showed a quick pose. Someday, Roderick thought to himself, he sure would.

The next night, Roderick invited Kimberly over to the house. They spent all night talking and goofing off, until her mother called and said it was time for Kimberly to come home and do her homework. Roderick asked Kimberly out for Saturday night, and she said yes. Knowing how much Kimberly likes bowling, he was planning on taking her to the new bowling place he saw in town. Roderick may be young, but he knows what he wants when he sees it...and right now that's Kimberly.

Later, Jan had a talk with Roderick about Kimberly and about his future. She reminded him of how important college is and how much it meant to his father that he get his education. Roderick wasn't fooled though. He pointed out that it wasn't his Dad that wanted him to go so badly, it was her. "Dad just wanted me to be happy, but you don't care! You just want to take me away from Kim!", he tossed out and he stormed off and slammed his door.

Kids these days...

(Roderick is a Family aspiration with a LTW to have 6 grandchildren)

<- ADDITION & SUBTRACTION / JAN'S UPDATE ->

Ch. 9 - Addition and Subtraction

2006-03-22T04:52:00.000-08:00

The whole family was saddened by the death of their beloved husband and father, Jebidiah. Shortly after he was laid to rest, Matthew (sporting a new look) came by to check on Amelia. He was very good to her and spent the evening sitting in the hot tub talking, stopping only to give her an occassional massage. She was so taken with him and she loved how comforting he was being on what was easily the worst day of her life. Out of nowhere, Matthew climbed out of the hottub, offered Amelia his hand and said "Come with me. I have something I want to show you.". As they walked towards the church, Amelia wondered if it was a sin to make out in a church or not, but that wasn't what Matthew had in mind.

When Amelia walked in, she was surprised to see her entire family in the church, dressed in their finest attire. The candles were lit and there was soft music playing in the background. Wait...was that Reverend Rainier in the corner? That's when she saw the wedding dress and tuxedo hanging up on the back of the door. Matthew had this planned for days. He was going to postpone it, but Jan insisted that the wedding go on in the honor of her beloved husband's wishes to see his children marry in this church.

And so they did. Amelia was in Heaven all night and could hardly believe this was happening. She didn't even think twice about having to give up her dating habits, since she was so happy to be marrying Matthew.

Her family was all there: Her mother Jan, sisters Sarah and Lizzie, brother Roderick, Lizzie's boyfriend Jessie, and family friend Quinten. Lizzie obviously forgot to take her thinking cap off before coming to watch the wedding. *hehe*

The romance of the moment got to family friend, Quinten McAuley. He had been in love with Sarah for years, and had wanted to ask her to marry him, but was waiting for the right moment. He had already talked to Jeb and Jan who gave him their blessing. Seeing Amelia and Matthew and how happy they were made Quinten sure that there was no time like the present. He plopped down on one knee in front of Sarah. Somehow, through his nervousness, he managed to propose to her. Everything from the past four years started running through Sarah's head...the love letters, the roses on her doorstep. She knew it! She just knew it was Quinten!

Before Amelia could even get out of her wedding gown, Sarah and Quinten were at the alter saying their vows. After the ceremony, all eyes turned to Lizzie.

"Well Lizzie?" asked Amelia, "It looks like it's your turn", she said as she winked at Jessie.

Lizzie giggled and replied "No, I'm afraid we won't be getting married now or any time soon."

"But", quizzed Amelia "I thought things were going really well with you guys. I thought he was the one."

"He is!" answered Lizzie. "That's why we already got married this morning".

That's right. Just that morning Jessie and Lizzie had married in the same little church that her two sisters have now been married in. Jeb's dream had come true and although he wasn't there in person to witness these marriages, he was certainly there in spirit.

Everyone settled into the house pretty well. Jan was happy to be there with her growing family and was looking forward to having grandchildren to play with. The grief of losing Jeb seemed to be wearing on her though as she got a little confused from time to time. At one point, she climbed into bed with son-in-law Matthew, relaxed for a while, then got up because she was really hungry - or was she? She finally decided she wasn't hungry after all and laid back down to relax again. Poor Jan.

Lizzie, on the other hand, thought the house was too crowded and longed for a house of her own. After talking it over with her husband, Lizzie and Jessie decided to start looking for their own place. It wasn't long before they found a cute little house in their price range just a block away from her mother's house. They packed up their belongings and moved out, eager to start their new lives in their new house.

Amelia was sad to see her sister leave, and ran out to say goodbye. Just before they climbed into the cab, Lizzie yelled out "Amelia, you're wearing Mother's underwear". Ack! Amelia ran inside to shower and change into her sexy black underwear, then got back into bed with her new husband. We'll just keep the whole "wore her mother's undies" thing a secret for her...shhhh.

So how many are left? You do the math...

Jeb, Jan & Roderick = 3
+
Sarah, Amelia & Lizzie = 6
-
Jeb = 5
+
Matthew, Quinten & Jessie = 8
-
Lizzie & Jessie = 6.

(And Sarah really wants Amelia and Matthew out, since one day it'll be her house, not Amelia's.)

<- HELLO, GOODBYE / RODERICK GROWS UP ->

Ch. 8 - You Say Goodbye & I Say Hello

2006-03-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

College life was at it's end for the girls. Lizzie had really enjoyed her time at college and all the knowledge she had obtained, but she was excited to be going back home. There were too many times that her sisters had hogged the bathroom, forcing Lizzie to bathe in the kitchen sink. Luckily Sarah never found out. It would have completely grossed her out.

She was also tired of Amelia's relentless gags and practical jokes. For some reason, Amelia loved to fart and blame it on Lizzie. Lizzie was a good sport about it though, and always told Amelia that when she least expected it, to expect it. I assume that means that she was plotting her revenge for the most embarrassing moment possible.

The night before graduation, Matthew made a surprise visit to see Amelia. He told her that he had something important to tell her, and that he wanted to get this out in the open before she graduated. Sarah and Lizzie, who were shooed out of the room, tried to listen but couldn't hear what Matthew was saying. All they saw was their sister, with tears in her eyes, hugging Matthew tightly. After he left, Sarah asked Amelia if everything was ok. With a big goofy grin on her face, Amelia simply replied "He loves me!". She took a deep sigh and went out to look at the stars. She didn't even notice that her cell phone was ringing, and that on her phone was a proposition of a date from Finer Thing #1 (aka Cooper).

Amelia wasn't the only one that got a little love before graduating. Lizzie and Jessie had been getting closer and closer. Just before Jessie & Lizzie were headed off to take their final exams, Lizzie leaned over and gave Jessie a good luck kiss. Something in that kiss was magical and Lizzie knew that she had just kissed the man she'd spend the rest of her life with. Jessie, a man of few words, simply said "Cool", then walked away with a grin on his face. Perhaps he was feeling the same way.

Graduation day came and went. Sarah (our Heiress) graduated with a 4.0 GPA. Amelia & Lizzie both graduated with a 3.7 GPA. All three girls were excited to be home with their parents and their little brother again. Here is a picture of what the family home, also known as Ridgeway Estates, looked like when they moved in:

The little building on the left is storage, while the building on the right is the family church. Jebidiah had this church built in the hopes of seeing all of his children get married here. The family graveyard is located in front of the church.

Sarah wasted no time in finding a job, and easily landed a position as a Resident. Her first promotion came quickly when she moved up to a General Practioner. Sarah loved being in the medical field and loved her job. Lizzie also found a job in the medical field as an Intern. She liked working with her sister, but didn't seem to have the same drive that Sarah had. She was working hard at getting the promotions she desired, but so far didn't have any luck.

Amelia was content on being at home, living off of her parents money. She claimed that someday she'd be discovered while she was out shopping or on a date, but until then didn't have any big desires to go out and get a job. Meanwhile, her dating continued although the only person she had been seeing lately was Matthew Howe. One thing she definitely needed to work on was her relationship with her brother, Roderick. Amelia was nice enough to help Roderick finish his Science homework, which he really appreciated. He wanted to give her a big hug to thank her, but Amelia backed away and rejected the hug. Not cool Amelia. Very not cool.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, that fateful day arrived. Jebidiah was in the kitchen preparing to cook dinner for his family when The Grim Reaper approached him and offered him a drink. He claimed it gave you everlasting life and it was Jeb's for the taking. Jeb was intrigued at the thought of everlasting life. He would love to hang around and meet his descendants. As he took the drink, he thought he heard his family crying "No Jeb, it's a trick!", but it was too late. The drink had been offered and accepted and Jeb was on his way to everlasting life...as a ghost. Jeb was 70 yrs old. He was laid to rest in the family cemetary in front of the church he so lovingly built for his children to be married in. Sadly his dreams of seeing his children marry and eventually giving him 6 grandchildren were never realized, but Jeb died a very happy man surrounded by the family that he treasured so deeply.

<- LOVE IS IN THE AIR / ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION ->