Chapter Two - Starting a Family << | >>
Day by day, life went on for the little family. Jessilyn spent more time fishing, gardening, cooking, and fixing things that broke. Between clogged toilets and broken sinks or showers, it seemed there was always something to do. Upgrading things so they would be self-cleaning only made sense to save time.
Upgraded!
With all the fixing and upgrading, Jessi reached level 5 of the handiness skill! Dave wasn't slacking either, and spent his days Jogging, working out, or finding critters to sell. His nights were spent watching the stars. Where he found time to sleep, we'll never know! Then, one night, he spotted something in the sky he'd never seen before. After writing a letter to the mainland observatory, they decided they hadn't seen it either.. and he was awarded some money for finding a new star!
Not only a new star, but level 5 logic!
Finding out his new hobby might also help add funds to the family, Dave kept working on it, and soon he hit level 5 in both logic and athletic. He still spent time daily with his son, and watched him grow and learn to do new things, like spit up all over clean clothes, and roll over - almost off the bed. The things that new parents never think of before hand.
Jessilyn practiced cooking with her new produce from her garden (now level 5!), and soon her cooking reached level 5 as well.
Level 5 cooking = more things I can make!
She had even learned how to make Sushi to make use of all her fish from fishing - although they still tended to be used as fertilizer in the garden far more. Fishing got to level 5 as well, and finally the ocean catches started getting a little better. Life in the little family seemed close to perfect.. if a little busy.
Still very much in love...
Dave also decided to order a Chemistry set to practice his logic on - and, well, because it simply sounded fun.
Stand back.. I'm doing SCIENCE!
(oh and yes, that's another paparazzi in the background.. crazy people just won't leave this family alone!) Before they knew it, Peregrine had finally grown up to be a toddler. With Jessi being busy with fishing and gardening much of the day, Dave took time out from his skill-building to spend time teaching young Peregrine some things he would definitely need to know. First order of business... talking. No more of this crying at all hours and not telling us what you want, ok young man? .. Right..
Peregrine can talk! (maybe he'll tell dad how much burnt hair smells?)
... Perhaps dad only took time out of his skilling because his latest Chemistry concoction failed miserably? ... Noo.. can't be. (hehe!)
With days that seemed even busier, Jessi woke one morning to an ominous message..
Yep, you guessed it..
All that woohooing and being in love clearly has side effects.. Jessi finds out she's pregnant again. With nothing to do for it but order another crib, daily life goes on. Crawling around on the hardwood floors is great for keeping things swept up, but Dave is sure there's a better way.
Getting around is so much easier this way, son!
Peregrine took right to the walking idea, and slowly he even started to get the idea of potty training. With all the time spent with Peregrine, Dave barely had time for anything else, and getting in a few hours of star-gazing seemed almost like heaven for him.
Time to get up? But I'm still sleepy!!
Time flies when you're always busy.. and while Dave was chatting with the mailman outside one morning, he heard Jessi yelling inside. A few hours later, young Osprey was born.
Welcome to the family, Osprey!
(oh and yes, that's Jessi that stinks, not the new baby.. hehe) He was born with light blonde hair like his mama, and a much quieter disposition than his brother. Clearly these two were not destined to be "two peas in a pod". But there was little time to worry about such things for now. With two very young children in the house, a garden to care for, and skills to learn, there was never a spare moment in the Falcon household. Even making friends with the paparazzi had to be put on hold to keep a handle on all the daily tasks that needed juggling. Taking time for keeping their relationship good seemed like a must, so once the kids were asleep, Jessi and Dave would try to cuddle and find time to talk before they simply passed out from exhaustion.
Uh... oh... again??
A a couple mornings later, while attempting to take out the trash Jessi drops everything as she realizes.... sure enough, she is pregnant again. With such a lack of time, Jessi finally let Gyr loose back into the world. She simply couldn't bear to see him sold into a pet shop. One day, she promised, they would find another falcon - or perhaps, even Gyr! (actually, the poor neglected thing croaked, but heck, this sounds better - hehe!)
Finally.. a girl. Welcome, Lanner!
Before Osprey even aged up to toddler, birth round three began. Dave - once again - decided to make himself scarce, and simply cared for the other two children while Jessi kept herself busy screaming at Dave to get her some ice chips or something. They named her Lanner, after the beautiful and fast Lanner Falcons in the (real) world - because she arrived so fast, of course! Again with the gorgeous red hair from Dave, Lanner immediately showed an interest in the world around her, much more so than her brothers.
Too many babies.. not enough sleep.
Poor Dave felt a bit overwhelmed, but completely blessed. Osprey and Lanner both had gotten mysteriously empty packages in the mail from "long-lost" relatives, while Peregrine hadn't. Perplexed, but determined not to allow the slight to harm his son, Dave threw himself into caring for his ever-growing family. As he watched his children grow, he began to worry more and more about their safety. Finally, he decided he would found a police station for their little town. Well.. when it became a town, that is. First he had some research to do, learning about crimes and profiling, and getting logic and athletic high enough to be worthy of a police chief title. .. maybe he'd better find another officer or two as well..? .. Nevermind that now, though. There's things to learn and kids to care for ... oh, and...
Osprey turns toddler..
Osprey is now mobile as well.. so that should make things even more interesting! What a cutie.. although his hair certainly could do to grow a little bit. (wink wink)
That night, Jessi and Dave finally had some time with all the kids asleep to talk. What they needed, they felt, was some more recruits to help build their town. Jessi had a couple contacts back on the mainland who had helped her with some of her repairing problems over the last few months (weeks in simtime), so she decided to give them a call and see if they would be interested in joining her town-building project. Since Dave wasn't interested in starting up the military base, perhaps one of her repairman friends would be? A new military base was sure to bring jobs and interest in the small community.. and she was afraid if she didn't take the general up on his offer soon, he might change his mind! She liked Dave's idea of starting up a Police Department, but agreed it was probably a ways off still.. the priority needed to be finding someone to run the base-to-be.. and founding Jessi's fishing hole. She had noticed recently that the horses had taken to using the falls as their home base, and she felt if they set it aside as a fishing hole and wildlife reserve people might be more interested in her cause as a whole. Exhausted, but excited about their town's prospects, Jessi and Dave fell asleep.
Of course, babies don't sleep as long as adults...
When Lanner woke up for her feeding, Dave was nice enough to get up early to care for her (and the two toddlers she woke up... eeks!) .... and yet another day began.
Chapter Two - Starting a Family << | >>
