Dear Darren,

Hey, little bro! How is life treating you at the Académie? Are you keeping an eye on Cady? Make sure she’s not kicking the crap out of the freshmen! I’d say tell her “hi” from me, but she’d probably just shrug it off, or make one of those sour faces she likes to make. We never did get along very well, you know. She’s super sweet to you and Arielle, though; I guess it’s because you’re all closer in age. Ah, well.

Time has really flown since graduation. It seems like just yesterday I was buying my first car and moving into my little house in Rosebrook.

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Hello! Simon Ravelo here. Before Ol’ Grimmy swoops in waving his scythe around and offering me an umbrella drink, I thought I should get my two cents in. I hope you’ll forgive me if I forget to cross a few i’s or dot a few t’s — I’m an old man, you know, and I’ve never been great with details. I like to live in the moment, make hay while the sun shines, carpe diem and all that stuff, so I don’t worry too much about what people think of me or whether or not I use proper punctuation. Life is too short for that, my friends! (Though I’m sure my writer daughter would tell you differently, at least about the punctuation.)

You’ve already heard about Marlee, Ethan, Trent, Darren, Cady, Arielle, and their college escapades, so now I’ll tell you about the rest of the crazy bunch. You know, sometimes I can’t believe I have ten children. Ten! One for each toe, as I tell my friends. I never thought I’d have any children, let alone that many. It was my wife’s idea, you know — ahh, my wife. She’s a wonderfully loony woman.

Here she is, pregnant for the 10th time, having breakfast with Ron and Johannes. Stephen was still a baby then, probably sleeping soundly in his crib. Great scott, it’s still dark out! Too early for the likes of me. I’m probably still sleeping, too.

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Happy Halloween from the Ravelos!

I wanted to do a proper update before this one, but I didn’t get a chance, so you’re seeing old faces, new faces, and some old faces that have transformed (that is, “grown up”). Even though NaNo starts tomorrow, I’d like to get the next Ravelo update posted very soon, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, enjoy the following close-ups and have a Happy Halloween!

Oh, and best of luck to the NaNo’ers! I’m ready to start typing like a madwoman tomorrow — how about you?

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Dear Mom & Dad,

Even though I saw you just last week (and I’ll be seeing a lot more of you now that I’m back in Rosebrook), I thought I’d write to you about our senior year at the Académie. Whenever I get together with you guys, there’s always a million other people around, so it’s hard for us to have a nice, long talk. I’m selfish that way, you know. The other kids may be used to sharing you, but I remember what it was like to be the only kid for awhile, and sometimes I really miss it! Writing this letter lets me tell you all the things that I wanted to tell you about but haven’t gotten the chance to yet.

I don’t know what Trent told you in his last letter, but I spent most of my junior year and part of my senior year in a rather pathetic state. I was so sick of seeing my little brothers going out with their girlfriends all the time while I stayed at home, bored silly.

I was truly happy for them — don’t get me wrong — but you know me, I’m a hopeless romantic. I wanted to be part of a couple, more than anything in the world. I wanted someone to take me out to dinner and propose to me, like Trent did with Tristen. If I couldn’t have that, I would have settled for a fun fling, like Ethan and Kaylynn had. But it just wasn’t happening, so I moped around the house feeling sorry for myself.

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Hey Mom and Pop,

You guys are pregnant AGAIN? Whoa. I guess you’re getting a lot of mileage out of that Love Tub. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Seriously though, congratulations. I’m looking forward to another little brother or sister I can torment. :-D

Actually, I think they’re doing most of the tormenting — one of them in particular — and I’m sure you can guess which one. But more on that later. I first want to reassure you that the new batch of Ravelo freshmen arrived safe and sound at ALT. To welcome them, we took them out on the town, filled them with espresso and other questionable beverages, dropped them off at Baguette Hill and let them find their own way back to the townhouse. Cady and Arielle made it back OK — only a few scratches and some dehydration, but Darren passed out halfway down the hill and was carried off by pack of prairie dogs.

I’m kidding, of course — Ethan made hamburgers and we all had a nice little dinner, the kind where everyone tries to talk at once. There were no questionable beverages, prairie dogs, or dogs of any kind.

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Kid #10 was born today! I just wanted to share since I probably won’t post that update in awhile (Trent’s letter is next, then maybe Marlee again for their senior year, then back to regular updates). I am happy to report that Kid #10 was a girl, so that makes 4 girls and 6 boys. Here’s a rundown of all ten kids:

1. Marlee – Young Adult, Family (5-9-2-5-6)
2. Ethan – Young Adult, Fortune (I rolled a new aspiration for him when he became a junior, and it’s perfect, since his Lifetime want is now “Become a Hall of Famer” and he has a 10 in Active!) (1-6-10-4-7)
3. Trent – Young Adult, Family (2-10-2-10-7)
4. Darren – Young Adult, Family (6-3-6-4-10)
5. Cady – Young Adult, Fortune (10-1-8-8-1)
6. Arielle – Young Adult, Popularity (5-9-2-5-6)
7. Ron – Teen, Family (6-3-9-5-7)
8. Johannes – Child (1-6-6-4-8)
9. Stephen – Child (6-6-9-4-7)
10. Leda – Baby

So far the only clone in the family is Arielle (clone of Marlee), so the “create a random Sim before birth” method seems to work pretty well. They are all very similar in appearance, of course, since it’s 1st gen, but I’m thrilled that they have such different personalities.

To see pictures of the kids (except for Stephen and Leda), you can visit this page of my Ravelo family tree on Tribal Pages. I know it can be hard to keep track of who’s who in these legacy families, so I try to keep my Tribal Pages family tree fairly up-to-date.

So anyway…bring on the “Have 20 Grandchildren” want! ;-)

Dear Kids,

I can still call you kids, right? At least until you graduate? You know, even though I have all these other kids to keep me occupied here at home, I miss you guys like crazy. Whenever I open the mailbox and find a letter from one of you in it, I do a little dance on the curb and clutch the envelope like it’s a winning lottery ticket (I’m sure neighbors think I’ve gone cuckoo).

I’d call you on the phone more often, but you know we have to watch our expenses, and the long distance bills are so high. Maybe by the time you guys are seniors I’ll be able to come visit you at school. Wouldn’t that be nice? I promise I won’t scold you for having a messy house or playing video games too much, because…well…I’m guilty of those things, too!

Hey, even Mom has to chill out once in awhile. Besides, SSX3 is highly addicting. Well, you’ve probably heard all the big news by now, but it seems like the few times we do talk, we never catch up on everything. That’s why I love those letters you send me — it makes me feel like I’m right there with you at school, laughing and crying and cramming for exams.

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