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The Duncan family was still grieving over the death of family matriarch Shirley. Particularly son Ronald who neglected the home business he had inherited. He even tried to ease his grief by filling the house with strays.

First he brought home Latham from the pet store. At least Latham and Spot got along (for a while).

Lures 'N Mates seemed to be stagnated at Rank 7. It was so hard to keep Ronald focused on his business. Usually he was off reading or playing with the cats.

Speaking of the cats, Spot and Latham welcomed 4 kittens to the family. Ronald is going to have to find good homes for these since the boys are heading off to university and it would be up to he and Susan to take care of six cats. Here's a picture of Spot with daughter Belle.

And one the 3 boys, Tigger, Scratchy and Patches.

Latham gave Patches a bath.

The kittens seemed to be a big hit with the customers of Lures 'N Mates which reached Rank 8. Ronald also managed to get his silver badge in fishing.

Always the entrepreneur, Jeffrey sold one of the kittens to his brother-in-law, Karl Morrison.

Susan wasn't too fond of having so many cats around the house, so she spent more time in downtown Stratfordshire. She went on a dream date with Randall Burns.

But didn't realize her daughter Gladys had witnessed it.

Jeffrey and James left for the Royal Shakespeare College. Both earned the Will Wright Genius Grant and the Sim City Scholars Award. Ronald waved goodbye to James.

And when Jeffrey finally got back from his business the Majestic Wardrobe, he left to join his brother and their friends at the RSC.

Spot got a little grayer and retired from her job.

Round 5 Summary: James and Jeffrey earned 2 scholarships and went off to the RSC. Susan was promoted to freelance web designer. Lures 'N Mates reached Rank 8 and Spot and Latham welcomed 4 kittens. Ronald earned his silver badge in fishing.

The Duncan family loves their businesses. Shirley and her son Ronald, started a home business Lures 'N Mates. Their daughter Gladys, just left for university with her boyfriend, Karl Morrison, another up and coming business man and now it looks as if one of the twins also wants to work the family business. That leaves Susan a lot of free time. Free time and Susan can only mean trouble.

Everyone had noticed that Shirley seemed just a little more tired lately, but everyone just passed it off as her working too hard. They didn't realize that it was her time until it was too late. (Blogger's Note: Shirley is the first of the founding sims to reach the end of her life).

Shirley seemed to be quite happy to be on her way. She never reached her lifetime want of owning 5 top level businesses, but she did see the home business she started, Lures 'N Mates, reach rank 6.

Her son Ronald inherited the business and was very upset by his mother's death. In a rare moment of compassion for her husband, wife Susan consoled him.

Even the cat Spot was in mourning over Shirley's death.

Shirley was often the only one that paid attention to Spot, especially after Gladys had left for college.

In order for the house to obtain some closure, they moved Shirley's remains to the Stratfordshire Cemetery. This way all her family and friends would be able to mourn her passing.

The Duncan family tried to get on with their lives. Spot found a new friend, in the form of April Morgan. April would often accompany her owners during their visits to Lures 'N Mates.

Speaking of the Morgan's. Seems like Ross has been getting ill a lot lately. Ronald removed the grill at Lures 'N Mates, but he didn't think it was anything Ross ate. None of the other customers were getting sick. Still, Ross was one of his best customers, so Ronald removed the grill all the same.

And Jeffrey used the money he inherited from his grandmother to purchase his first business. A clothing store he called The Majestic Wardrobe.

Round 4 Summary: Shirley passed away and left the business to Ronald. Susan was promoted to freelance photographer and Jeffrey purchased his first business, The Majestic Wardrobe. Spot made a new friend and James hung out with old ones.

Ronald and Shirley have been working hard to make home business Lures 'N Mates a success. Ronald's wife Susan, on the other hand, has been stepping out behind Ronald's back. The twins Jeffrey and James have grown into teenagers and teenage daughter Gladys is about to head off to university.

The Duncan women wave goodbye to Gladys. Her father said his goodbyes out front.

Gladys was awarded the Sim City Scholars Grant and the Wil Wright Genius Grant. That should help defray those college costs.

Gladys is off to the Royal Shakespeare College with her boyfriend Karl Morrison.

Susan continues to look for affection, this time with Darryl Porter. She didn't even ask him what he did for a living. In fact, Susan doesn't even know where he lives. She has his number though if she wants to go out for a good time.

She realized during her date with Darryl that she had put on a few pounds.

But Darryl had such a good time on their date, he brought her a Bust of Tylopodus. When asked where it came from, Susan lied and said that Gladys had sent it from college.

Ronald and Susan thought the boys might benefit from private school so they invited the local headmaster over. Private School was beyond their means before, but now that Lures 'N Mates was Rank 6, they could afford the tuition.

The headmaster was suitably impressed and welcomed the boys to the Royal Academy.

Round 3 Summary: Gladys had her 3rd dream date with Karl Morrison and went off to RSC with Sim City Scholars Grant and Wil Wright Genius Grant in hand. The boys got into private school and continue to do well. Susan found her first love, Darryl Porter and earned two promotions. Ronald and Shirley were thrilled when their home business Lures 'N Mates reached rank 6. They used the award money to pay off the final mortgage.

Gladys hasn't stopped talking about Karl Morrison. Ronald knew his daughter was obsessed with boys, something not uncommon for girls her age, but now he wonders if this is his future son-in-law.

Well, as long as she can keep her mind off Karl long enough to do well in school. Both Ronald and Susan are pleased that Gladys wants to attend the Royal Shakespeare Academy in the Fall.

Susan was promoted to Party DJ. She loves her job and that the hours allow her to spend time with her children. She's even home to meet them when they get off the bus.

Gladys and Karl are getting really close.

But they are not the next SimCity idols.

Gladys seems to take after her mother. Ronald wouldn't be too pleased if he'd witnessed her antics in the photo booth with Karl.

Gladys and Karl decided to go steady. Karl is still undecided on whether or not he wants to go to university. He hates school. But Gladys is trying to talk him into attending with her in the Fall.

Susan, desperate for affection, agreed to go on a blind date. John Cross didn't have Susan seeing hearts right off, but they had a fun time.

Susan thought he was very pleasant to spend time with. John certainly paid her more attention than her husband Ronald had in quite a long time.

Ronald and his mother Shirley have been obsessed with the home business, Lures 'n Mates. The boys, when not helping with the business, looked after and trained Spot. James appears to be Spot's favorite.

Both boys do extremely well in school, although Jeffrey was the first to come home with top grades.

The family celebrated Jeffrey's birthday.

Jeffrey Duncan
Fortune
LTW: Own 5 Top Level Businesses
Turn Ons: Glasses, Mechanical
Turn Off: Custom Hair

James insisted on his own cake. He hated that he was born just a few minutes after Jeffrey, and still resented not getting any cake on their last birthday.

James Duncan
Family
LTW: Marry Off 6 Children
Turn Ons: Vampirism, Hats
Turn Off: Charismatic

Round 2 Summary:
Gladys went on her first dream date with Karl, which also included her first woohoo. She and Karl went steady. Susan was promoted to Party DJ and went on a blind date with John Cross. Shirley was ecstatic when their business Lures 'N Mates received a good review. The business is 3 customer loyalty stars shy of rank 6. Ronald earned a bronze badge in Sales.

Shirley Duncan loves business. Her husband Oliver gave her a business to run as a wedding present. It turned out Shirley loved the business more than she loved Oliver. When a big microchip company offered her a fortune for her controlling shares, Shirley decided to buy a house in Stratfordshire and start fresh. When her son Ronald lost his job, she offered to have his family move in with her.They could start a string of businesses together, like a real family. Ronald jumped at the chance, but his wife Susan who already felt trapped, was not happy about leaving Sim City. She wanted excitement, and from what she'd heard, the sidewalks in Stratfordshire rolled up pretty early.

They had a man-made pond added to the property Shirley had purchased and started their first business, Lures 'n Mates, right at home.

While Shirley and Ronald worked on the home business, the rest of the Duncan family settled in. Gladys, when not attending Stratfordshire High, helped out with the twins. She tried to teach James to talk, but he could be quite stubborn sometimes.

Ronald didn't ignore his family completely though. He would take time to teach the boys while Shirley minded the business. After all, what kind of father would he be if he didn't help his son Jeffrey learn to walk?


Meanwhile, Susan made sure Gladys kept up with her studies. She didn't want Gladys to be trapped in a loveless marriage because she'd neglected her studies.


Potty training was at the top of everyone's agenda. How could two little boys dirty so many diapers? Ronald gave Jeffrey some pointers ...


... while Shirley cheered for James.


As they were still new and without many friends, they decided to have a family only party for the twins birthday.

Yar! Susan knew Jeffrey would love the pirate costume when she'd spotted it in the window display.He was always asking Ronald to read him the pirate book when he was a toddler.


James, who had been outside playing with Spot, almost missed a piece of his own cake. He had a real independent streak as a toddler, even resisting help learning to walk. "I can do it myself!" seems to be his motto.

On the weekends, Gladys would help out at Lures 'n Mates. She may find a mate of her own from the looks of it.

Shirley is very adamant that all the children study hard. After all, how will they ever be able to take over the family business without an education? Their mother never got an education and where did that get her?


Susan gets promoted to Convenience Store Clerk. No more gas fumes for her. At least she gets a few hours out of the house on the nights she works. And she's meeting people. People that her nosy mother-in-law would not approve of.

Gladys babysits the twins on the nights her mother works. She doesn't mind because she loves her little brothers. She even helps James with his English homework.

On Friday, Karl Morrison called and asked Gladys out on a date.They hung out down at The Corner Shops where Gladys discovers a secret about Karl. He's really ticklish.

He's also a great kisser. Gladys and Karl share their first kiss. Ah, young love.

Round 1 Summary:
Shirley started the home business Lures 'n Mates, which reached level 4. Susan received 3 promotions in the Slacker career and is now working as a Convenience Store Clerk. Gladys has B+ grades and experienced her first kiss. The twins aged up well after learning almost all of their skills (James never did learn to walk as a toddler).