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With all the bugs recently, I’m too scared to touch my legacy challenge save! 5+ years, 7 generations, so many game updates, mods phased in and out, and now undeniably at least a little unstable anyways… help!

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Daily life

I love seeing sims grow up. Each of August and Jolene's kids used to be tinier and so much work. But overtime with love and care, they give so much back. Here Lily (I remember how cute she was!) helps out with baby Julian. She also packed lunches for everyone

Kisses and hugs

Teenager going through a phase (one of the most annoying features...)

We all deserve to feel like Jolene here sometimes

Thank you for reading!

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Fastest pregnancy ever?!

Welcome to Julian Olvera! Jolene and Augusts 6th and last child <3

That went by really fast. I guess he was excited to come

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Lily is quite stylish and beautiful. But at night with serious bedhead

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What's been happening recently is all the kids wake up, shower, and get ready for school whilst the adults are sleeping. Marigold likes packing everyone's lunch.

Jolene got very pregnant very fast. I hope it's not twins

August is now a daytime news anchor and so his weekday mornings are very free and he works less overall. He got a swim workout in today

Jolene and Daisy went to the park. Also, reminder to appreciate the base game! This off lot area around Magnolia blossom is stunning

Average evening on a school day

And also...

Lily aged up! Whoops. Also no birthday. This is getting really bad. I'm sorry Lily!

Thank you for reading

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Beautiful world

Spring is so nice! Both in the sims and real life. It was a great spring where I was. My favourite thing is everything turning green again, flowering trees, and the temperatures being just right to enjoy being outdoors.

Spring is also often associated with rebirth. Jolene is pregnant once again with her last child (I mean it this time). They had to have a science baby.

I got this new mod that makes wants and fears better. I really love whims in the sims 4 but hate how fears were done, so I got it. As a result, I actually have to fulfill sims wants now or else there are consequences

My teen sims seem to want to take selfies for instance

Rose has these big eyes and she's so cute

Thanks for reading

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Vacation day 2 and...

Luxurious spa day

The kids mostly stayed at the rental, hanging out and taking care of each other and the adults...

Got some much needed time at a luxurious beach front spa! I enjoyed this so much, vicariously, that I forgot to take enough screenshots (which don't do it enough justice either). The ocean-front, luxury experience, beautiful venue, and I guess fantasy of it all reminded me of how a good, high end vacation really feels. It reminded me of childhood and one particularly amazing hotel my family liked. And also of trips in just some amazing places around the world. So thank you to the sims for reminding me of this!

August chilling with a protein bar. Gotta maintain those muscles!

I also used sauna woohoo for the first time. No baby unfortunately but we'll keep trying. I'm sure they loved it though

After that, the whole family, except baby Daisy enjoyed Dinner at a restaurant

The vacation came to an end after Sunday. I'm sure the adults had a better time than the kids but it was still great for everyone. No work, just escape!

Thank you for reading!

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Daisy learned to stand on the vacation! Toddlerhood must be near

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Weekend getaway at Tartosa!

My sims travelled to Tartosa last weekend for a large family vacation! It was awesome. Tartosa is also very beautiful and I'm glad to finally explore some of it

Saturday's breakfast was bacon and eggs. And lots of chatter

Also a birthday! Roman's. So fast! Happy birthday

Cake and tea. I love sugar and I guess my sims do too

Travelling with an infant was actually alright. Recommend

Here is Rose's new look. She's been honing the comedy skill since I want to play with it. She's becoming quite the jokester

Jolene as a mom is again in a really good spot which is so nice to see. She's really at peace and enjoying family life

Jolene and August then went on a walk through this beautiful area with baby Daisy

Meanwhile, the rest of the kids hung out in the water

This is the view they have by the way!

August and Jolene have been trying to have another kid believe it or not ;)

And sometimes those efforts need a change of scene...

Thank you for reading <333

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Having multiple little's is great. And easy when you lower your standards

Spicy food!

This is how I feel when i eat buldak ramen

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 Hot Tea Legacy 🍵

by lxdice (me)

This is a legacy challenge I created to add some more drama and spice to my game while enjoying the many packs and features it has to offer (that I often forget exist)! Feel free to use mods/cc in your games or play completely vanilla. It’s all up to you! In some generations, I will add some mod suggestions that I think would add to the overall experience of that gen, but it is NOT a must! Feel free to alter certain goals to suit your play style as I want you guys to enjoy the legacy and have fun! I hope you guys are ready for some drama & hot tea! 🍵

This legacy is pack heavy (I couldn’t help myself 😭) so feel free to swap out traits, aspirations and goals to something you can do with the packs you own. Some generations are more wholesome than others. Some are filled with drama! If you want to check things off your list, make a copy of the rules to keep for yourself, then you should be able to edit it! Oh and I want to see your sims!! So tag me on tumblr, youtube or twitter if you decide to play this legacy @lxdice. I want to see all the stories you guys tell! Or use the #hottealegacy ❤️

Google Doc

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I did recently have 3 sim birthdays. Without cakes...

Jolene, Rose, and Daisy have all aged up. Jolene is now an adult, Rose a teenager, and Daisy an infant.

Some makeovers for both

Jolene had an awful young adulthood. A lot of grief, a lot of struggle, and the brutal reality of motherhood. But she is in a much better place now! In my sims game adulthood is basically the peak of life recently, especially as the life stage is now longer. Here's to new beginnings and even more joy and adventure 💜🥂

Daisy's first food was applesauce. She loved it.

These two love each other. And I really love how much August cares for Jolene, his love and kindness through all her highs and lows. He's a keeper. I really get the vibe that to August Jolene's his whole world (well also his kids). It's beautiful. So thank you August for being a loving sim and always being here

Roman maxed his movement skill. His toddlerhood has been nice. Here he runs through trees on the family's property

Jolene and her youngest two, Roman and Daisy even went to a playground

She spent some peaceful time with her baby while Roman played. I think Jolene's actually enjoying motherhood now. And it's the most beautiful thing.

Tummy time

The family has found a new rhythm. And now there are 4 different sims able to make dinner not just Jolene. Last night however she made excellent quality chicken stir fry and Rose helped out and tidied. Her family was very impressed with much mmm! and gasps heard. It looked really good too

Ever get inspiration from your sims? I do. It made me want to make a chicken stir fry. I'm not a fan of stir fry because of how my mom used to cook it, but maybe could give it a go. Salt and Pepper chicken is a favourite and many recipes have it in stir fry form. Sounds amazing actually

I also started making rice balls more frequently because of this game. Tuna mayo is my fave so far.

Playing Discover University with another sim in another sim helped me realize why my GPA is not 4.0 while my sims is 🙂 so I'll remember, reading are helpful and do take a while, and try doing them before class instead. And starting early. Much earlier

Sims also makes me appreciate the beauty and joy of family and parenting and even diverse families. Then I remember what life and "family" actually is like in the real world and for some. And that parenting in North America is pretty awful

Thank you for reading!

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Jolene's journey from struggles to joy

I have to make this post because I think her story is meaningful to me. It's long, sorry. Here we go...

Jolene met August right after their family vacation to Henford on Bagley. They hit it off and got engaged super fast. Jolene was cheerful, a "girly girl", and a beauty lover. Their relationship further developed over one sim week, at parties, celebrations, and midsummer.

August and Jolene were super compatible and so their love only grew. They both love family and want kids. August has the "Big Happy Family" aspiration.

They got married, and a pregnancy came soon after. Here, begins the trend of Jolene struggling more during pregnancy. This is thanks to mostly the RPO mod plus meaningful stories. They add amazing depth that's helping me tell this story. But they will also make your game harder. Be warned!

Pregnancy has physical effects like back pain and emotional effects like "mood swings". Jolene's first pregnancy was not pleasant, but it was more than worth it for the joy of her first child, Marigold!

Jolene loved being a mom and eagerly got pregnant again which is why Marigold and Rose are so close in age.

This second pregnancy might have been the worst. Jolene lost someone close to her and was grieving. It was brutal and unlike some other sims, she just wasn't as good at being functional and productive while mourning. Being pregnant and having a baby to care for at the same time made everything worse. She was upset so often that she switched from a cheerful to a gloomy sim. I talk a bit about it here. These struggles would continue. It was a huge challenge and I felt terrible for her.

Jolene was often sad and leaned heavily on her village. Grandma Rin and Adeline were a huge help. Charlotte too. August would only step up later. All the support was a lifesaver. In many ways, Jolene was still able to thrive, and she did still love her children.

Due to the difficulties of pregnancy and motherhood, her enthusiasm for having more children has cooled. She still loves her younger children but does not have the same excitement for each pregnancy that she used to.

In terms of being pregnant, however, she now basically hates it just like Rin did. The difference is that Rin stopped at two whereas Jolene didn't. It's clear that her love for her family outshines the challenges, because…

Overtime through processing the grief of multiple loved ones, some amazing days, pregnancies, mom life, and the joy and challenges of a bigger family, Jolene has been able to see light, find meaning, and true happiness once again.

It took a while, some effort, good days and bad, and progress was not linear, but it happened. Her entire young adulthood was I think a net positive, but still generally unhappy

Most luckily she has switched back from gloomy to cheerful. I think the main turning point was an amazing Winterfest and the birth of her fifth child Daisy.

TLDR: It's fair to say it's easy to be optimistic when life goes well. Completely agree. But from the bottom of my heart, I urge anyone to remember that it's a strategy, that leads to more action and through that a better outcome. At least some path out there has a chance of being viable. Go find it! It's not reasonable to conclude yet, and I've seen where that thinking leads again and again. And most of all, optimism isn't being unrealistic. It's the action that means you still believe in a somehow, some way, someday, something, somewhere. And through that, there is good.

Jolene and I are similar in this regards. Though I hope my own version of young adulthood isn't that bad...

Jolene's story is realistic. Uncomfortably so for a Sims game. However, it's meaningful. To me, it touches on something that's not very fun to admit which is that life really does get you down and that it's easier to be optimistic when life has been going better recently. Jolene only switched to cheerful after working through grief, with family support, and enough happy experiences like Winterfest, children's birthdays, and more littles. I can't confess to having that many good things happen at all 🙃 but, yesterday was a good day and I had the thought…

That optimism is a strategy. After fall went surprisingly well, I wrote somewhere "Choose hope and optimism in everything!" yet months later I clearly wasn't taking my own advice. I tried to remember why I wrote it and then it hit me. I have seen the patterns in my own life recently that support why that's best. I think of times when I lacked hope and how that ended up in failure. And of times when I did the opposite and tried even when I thought it wouldn't go so well and was surprised.

The reason optimists have better outcomes in life comes down to taking action, and believing that it's possible somehow, somewhere. This makes sense. The chance of success could be low, very low, or practically impossible, but they are guaranteed impossible if you don't try, take action, and just move, or crawl forward. I feel like I am crawling sometimes. But I did move.

Luck is not necessarily random. Really it's just when preparation meets opportunity, and so the goal is to maximize both. Perhaps my preparation was showing up and pushing through. And the opportunity was clear through good people, kind people, amazing profs, and my small network. Maybe Jolene's preparation was being there for her children, going to grief counselling, exercising even though she hated it, and on some days letting the tears flow. And the opportunity was through her beautiful family and the fact that she was stronger than she thought.

The future is unknown. If it's good, then that's more than enough reason to be here because life can be beautiful. If it isn't, nothing really changes (and I have to admit it's not like every waking moment is suffering. everyone's different though). It is unreasonable and actually harmful to assume either, especially the negative outcome, because once again we don't know and believing and pushing forward has real benefits.

Yesterday started terribly, so terrible it was hard, for the first time in my life, to get out of bed. But I had to, I had things to do. I am so glad I held on and pushed through because of the realization I came to after reflecting, the fact it was a good day, a productive day, and some amazing news I received. Work was good, my pets were adorable and enjoyed a freshly cleaned cage, I walked around my garden that's doing so much better than last year, plants love the rain drops and June's 16-hour days, and later while studying and listening to lofi tunes, I felt that somehow, deep down life was good and that it would be okay.

Of course that was an unusual day. But wasn't it worth it…

Without getting into too much detail, I do feel like everything has been getting worse for a few years now lol. 2022 was ok for a little bit and then… :( I don't want to get too optimistic but I have to admit, for the first time in a long time, this pattern in my life might actually be changing. Some things are looking up. I had an achievement yesterday :) And of course several other good things. I've learned a lot and will continue to do so. The overall trajectory still isn't great so far, but the most important thing is remembering optimism as a strategy. Often easier said than done, but there are coping strategies for that too.

Thank you so much for reading ❤️

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On the first day of Spring my sims went to the park

Marigold met these three other teen girls. One is her cousin. And they're all super cute. I think they could be a great friend group, even with some less-than-ideal first impressions.

One thing I need to improve in my gameplay is giving my teens a better social life. It's not just about the whole family right, I have to consider the individuals. The teenage life stage is long now, so it's time for more parties, dates, dances, and more!

Rose and Lily played in pajamas

Marigold tried skating

She also got a workout in. She's trying to make it on the swim team! I figured I'd start giving young sims extracurricular activities for realism and to have fewer sims in the house 🙂, even though it's a McMansion (maybe lol). With seven sims, it's getting crowded.

August and Jolene spent some time together. Important when they're both so busy.

I have something beautiful to share about Jolene in the next post ❤️

Thank you so much for reading

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Recap of another sims year

So much has happened. The end of Generation 6 and start of Gen 7, love and loss, 5 sims children, new careers and personalities, awesome holidays, ups and downs... the whole shebang! Checkout the rest of the blog for more detail on all these events, if you're curious :)

Thank you for being here ❤️

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Sims New Years party!

A charismatic August makes everyone crack up

It's already been another year in my sims game. That was fast (because I've actually been playing the game)! I went low effort and threw a party at the house. Augusts friends from the teenage years are still here even in adulthood and fatherhood.

It's so easy to only interact with family members and forgot to have a more expanded social circle. With a 9-5, only weekends off, and just 2 public holidays per year, time with all these close friends is precious. Augusts a workaholic and resistant to taking PTO. Promotions are such a grind too

I can hear the Shushubee! through the screen

She's prangent!

Seeing everyone together, joyous, and celebrating was so great. It was a good and lively party. Not too long either. There was drinks and dancing, but mostly just moments like these

A bunch of August's and Charlotte's friends from since high school

Thank you for reading!