R1 - Dog Days

Gyles: Dog Days

Round 1
Spring of 1965

Our week with the Gyles started off with a perfectly sunny day at the South Point Flea Market. Luke was a former botanist at the Sunset Valley Science Center, so he knew the value of fresh fruits and vegetables. Despite their short time in Millbrook, visiting the flea market every Saturday morning became routine.

Kevin wasted no time finding a girlfriend, and Allison wasted no time looking elsewhere. Kevin and Allie were sweeter than pie, and everyone adored seeing them together. However, sometimes Erin worries her son is moving too quickly, and carelessly at that.

Erin, Luke, Lucas, and Kevin all sat down for their morning lunch. Nancy from down-the-street made a lovely autumn salad to share with the community.

Lucas, following in his big brother's footsteps, also made a "friend" rather easily. Her name was Kyra Lewis, and she was the daughter of Mayor Mary-Anne Lewis. Lucas found her pretty, but was a little more interested in her younger sister Lemon. Her sarcastic sense of humor often made him feel stupid, but he found her a little more interesting than Ms. Goody Two-Shoes.

Lucas could never tell his baby sister Paulette how he felt, because she's great friends with them both. It's actually hard to find someone Paulette isn't friends with. Of course, the gift of gab comes with a few curses; due to her inability (or unwillingness) to stop talking, she's failed quite a few tests.

She tries to do her homework on a regular basis, but then she gets bored and plays with Sheba instead. Paulette was beginning to think that maybe school just wasn't something she would ever "get".



If school just wasn't her thing, that would be alright with her. She's pretty good with her favorite pink guitar, and she's great at saying the right thing at the right time. If she continues to hone those skills, who knows where it'll take her?

Erin's skills have taken her out of military retirement and into the business world. Due to some thrifty saving in her younger days, Erin was able to buy out an old gym and make some renovations to it. At first, the changes were pretty subtle - but soon, the old Millbrook Recreation Center will attract more and more customers wanting to get fit, and Erin will be the mastermind behind it.

Lucas enjoys teaching Sheba how to do tricks. In fact, Lucas enjoys animals in general. Both of his parents love animals, so it wouldn't be a surprise to discover that he does as well. Maybe he'll do something in the animal sciences one day.

Lucas was feeling rebellious and decided to egg the mayor's house one night. Of course, Lucas isn't the brightest bulb in the box, so he completely forgot he was essentially egging his girlfriend's house. Fortunately, he didn't get caught.

Although exercise can't turn back the hands of time, Erin still likes to keep up with her morning jogs. They keep her fit as a fiddle, and they warm her up for her long training days with clients.

One of those clients would be good 'ol Nancy from down-the-street, or Nancy Miguel. Nancy wanted to support local business, so she paid a visit to Erin's gym for a short training session. She certainly did not expect to be challenged so much, and she's certainly no novice to fitness! Erin knew she was on the right track with her training style.

Lucas' girlfriend was also subjected to Erin's ruthless training. Kyra wanted to "get in shape for swimsuit season", but she had no clue this is what that meant!

Lemon and Paulette like to hang out in the gym's cafeteria every now and then, since there's nowhere else for them to hang out. They talk about everything; from school, to boys, to jobs - you name it, they discuss it. They even talk about politics, which makes for some pretty awkward conversation.

Erin's gym isn't as popular as she'd like it to be, so there's a large gap in waiting time between clients. This is usually when Erin will hop on the treadmill for a few miles, or she'll take a swim in the downstairs pool. Anything to keep her moving away from the boredom...

And speaking of boredom, Erin and Luke felt that Sheba was getting bored. So, they adopted a new companion for her! He's an Australian Cattle Hound named Papa, and let me tell you a secret: his name (hopefully!) won't be a coincidence.

The Gyles Family

Name: Erin (Kennedy) Gyles

Hometown: Sunset Valley

Current Location: Millbrook

Age: 73 SimYears 

LTW: Astronaut (Achieved)

Traits: Workaholic, Atheltic, Brave, 

Grumpy, Dog Person

Occupation: Retired Astronaut

Owner of Millbrook Community Center

Bio: After getting married, having a family, and 

reaching the top of her career, Erin is finally taking 

a much-needed break. Sort of. She's still pushing herself to the limit

with her new business venture. With all this running around, 

is she spreading herself too thin?

Family: Luke (husband), Lucas (child),
Paulette (child), Kemmie (child), Kevin (child)

Name: Luke Gyles

Hometown: Sunset Valley

Current Location: Millbrook

Age: 68 SimYears

LTW: Creature-Robot Crossbreeder (Achieved)

Traits: Dog Person, Loves the Outdoors,

Brave, No Sense of Humor, Adventurous

Occupation: Retired Botanist

Education: High School Graduate

Bio: Luke has always been the more easy-going

parent, although that's not saying much 

considering how strict Erin can be. Now 

that he's retired, Luke is enjoying his

time off with some leisurely reading,

chess games, and a stroll or

two around the flea market.

Family: Erin (wife), Lucas (child),
Paulette (child), Kemmie (child), Kevin (child)

Name: Lucas Gyles

Hometown: Sunset Valley

Current Location: Millbrook

Age: 14 SimYears

LTW: The Zoologist

Traits: Absent-Minded, Couch Potato, 

Loves the Outdoors, Clumsy

Education: Currently in 8th Grade

Bio: Lucas is aging in a different environment than his

two older siblings. Erin and Luke are hardly ever home,

and when they are, they're far too tired to instill the values

of work ethic and physical activity as they did with Kevin and Kemmie.

Is Lucas failing school because he "doesn't get it", 

or is he failing to get their attention?

Family: Luke (father), Erin (mother), Paulette (sister)
Kemmie (sister), Kevin (brother)

Name: Paulette Gyles

Hometown: Sunset Valley

Current Location: Millbrook

Age: 13 SimYears

LTW: Golden Tongue, Golden Fingers

Traits: Neurotic, Friendly, Virtuoso, Slob

Education: Currently in 7th Grade

Bio: Paulette is cute as a button and a total chatterbox. Everyone

absolutely adores her. Her one problem is in school! How on

Earth is she supposed to focus on school when there

are so many cool people to talk to?!
Family: Luke (father), Erin (mother), Lucas (brother)
Kemmie (sister), Kevin (brother)

R1 - Starting Over

Miguel-Nagi: Starting Over

Round 1
Spring of 1965

Not much has happened to the Miguel-Nagis since we last checked in. Their move to Millbrook County (a small town on the southern side of Altwater) was a very smooth transition. They have a nice house, with plenty of space for a booming garden or maybe a few playthings for Gina.

Of course, frugal Nancy was not at all happy with the expenses. She constantly daydreamed of being able to go back to her job as Bridgeport's go-to Worldly Relations Ambassador, but they demoted her when she took maternity leave. Plus, she started to miss her friends back in Plum City. The town here was so sparse in population, she began to feel separated from society.

Youssef was much less conflicted about the move. He really liked it here. The limited population meant less traffic, more jobs, and most importantly - less people to potentially hurt his precious little girl. It's not like they could do anything to a toddler, but one day she'll be all grown up and messing around with boys - or girls - who will only break her heart in the end. As a father, he couldn't imagine his lovely Gina falling for a boy who behaved as he once did.

Gina didn't seem to have an opinion on the move, since her mind was on more important things. You know, toddler things. She was hitting all those important milestones in record-time, including walking. At times like this, Nancy and Youssef wished Gina had more family around to see her progress.

Nancy had no problem in the friends department, despite the sparseness of people. She quickly found a best friend in Allison, and her elderly neighbors down the street.

She also found a friend in her garden, which served as a way to save and make money while taking care of Gina.

And although the town was quiet, they were not immune to robberies and accidental fires. Thankfully, they had enough of those in Plum City to be prepared for them here in Millbrook.

Every now and then, Youssef and Nancy like to put on their evening's finest and go out on the town. After the owner of the Empire Ballroom requested Youssef to perform every night, they finally had the perfect excuse to go out at night.

Youssef enjoyed playing for the patrons of the Empire Ballroom and taking in the ambience. It didn't pay very much, but he enjoyed being back in the music scene again.

And of course, the hot tub was a very nice perk.

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Cheezy's notes: This post was a bit scatter-brained, as I'm still trying to organize everything. This is basically just a summary of what Nancy and Youssef have been doing to try and get used to their time in Millbrook. I find it easier if I cram all of the sim-week into one post, so there aren't several Round 1 posts for one family. Just a fair warning; that means some families will have word-heavy and picture-laden posts! 


A map of Altwater will be coming soon, but it's pretty sparse as it's still in the "development" phase. I'm using MySimsRealty's Storybrook County as Altwater's map.