TVanHouten - September 2007

Trenton is 25, Steve is 24, Maxsim is 23, Hannah (blue) is 3, Jolina (pink) is 2, and True (yellow) is 1.

(Narrated by Trenton)

Good news! Green Construction finally finished our house and we were given the green light to move in. It took all day and most of the night, but we finally got settled. We live at 77 W. Cedar St, right next door to the Valdes Family. Spencer Farm is to the left of us, and an outdoor concert arena sits directly in front of us. That's the only bad news...well that, and the fact that we have no backyard. I'm not looking forward to the loud band noises, but as Maxsim says, we have free access to all the concerts from our front yard.

I can't complain, though. The house is perfect for our situation. I bought the house for all of us and built an office out back for my tax work. It's plenty big enough for our toddler daughters to play around in. We've got a nice gameroom upstairs and plenty space. The 2.5 bathrooms might be a problem once the girls become teenagers, but I'm not sure if we'll all be living together then. My favorite part of the house is the laundry room. (You can imagine how much laundry 3 toddlers and 3 bachelor men have, it's not even funny.) I don't know why I find doing laundry so relaxing, but I do. And my brothers don't mind that one bit.

The pool table is already providing plenty of entertainment for Maxsim. He's become the most laid-back, quiet person since Lucille died. He was not always like that. He seems to have lost his spark, but that's only until he picks up his bass guitar. Then you can hear all of his emotions come thumping out. He's an absolute master on that upright bass.

In fact, it didn't take long for him to join a new band. They call themselves The Jazzmasters. I thought it was the perfect name. From what Steve told me, Jacques Wise is a beast on the piano. Steve's boss at CPS, Maxine Wise, introduced her husband to Steve. He must've told Jacques about Maxsim right away. Next thing I know...the two are borrowing my car to go play somewhere.

I made sure Maxsim understood that we have to share the truck. And gas is not cheap. But, I didn't mind. I know jazz music is his outlet. He loves everything about it. Turns out Jacques rents out The Cage nightclub whenever he wants, and he and my brother had an impromptu jam session our 2nd night in town.

***
My brothers and I decided it was best not to split the girls up right now. They're still wondering where their mothers are, and being able to play with each other seems to help them not be so cranky.

We agreed that we would all pitch in and help each other out. Whenever anyone is off from work, they would do the feeding, bathing, potty training, etc. until the others get home. And we do our best with spending some quality time before we head off for work. That means getting up at like 5:00 a.m., most mornings.

It's not easy on any of us, but there is comfort in knowing that we have each other.

My daughter is the youngest of the bunch. Her name is True and she is the last to do everything; even going to bed last and waking up last. LOL! She takes her time and you can't rush her. Trenton and True is easy to remember, if you're getting us all mixed up.

Steve is the middle brother, "The Professor" as we like to call him, he's Jolina's father. Steve is the one that sparks the competition in us. Of course we're all competing now to see who will learn how to walk, talk, and potty first.

Jolina has become a "Daddy's girl". She's the fragile one, it seems. She really doesn't want to be bothered with anyone else but Steve. She used to be latched to her mother, Jessica, like a shadow. Now she's Steve's shadow. If she could go to work with him, I bet she'd be attached to his hip all day while he taught his lessons.

And last but not least...Hannah is Maxsim's daughter. She's the oldest girl and the genius child. I don't know how it happened, must've been from Lucille's genes, but all she wants to do is learn stuff; total opposite of Maxsim, I hate to say. LOL!

***

To understand why we're here, I'll have to share a little bit of our background. Our wives were triplet sisters. Identical, at that. And most people are amazed that our daughters seem to look like triplets also, well that's the reason why. Their mothers' charm and beauty made them stand out in a crowd like angels. It's no surprise that our daughters hold that same quality. In a large town like Riverblossom, AZ, I was amazed but not surprised to find out that everyone knew the Farley triplets! I met Francine first. I'll never forget it. My tax seminar had just ended at the Civic Center, and she and her sisters were coming out of a car show they had just modeled in. Francine bumped into me, actually. Knocked me and my fully-loaded briefcase right onto the ground! When I looked up and saw her...uhh them..I actually thought I was seeing things. 3 mirror images were bending over to help me up. I couldn't wait to tell my brothers about it. At first Steve and Maxsim didn't believe me. They met Francine and saw how beautiful she was and thought it was impossible that there were two carbon-copies of her walking around. Somehow those guys swept the other two off their feet as well. I don't know how they did it, but I guess the Farley triplets found something irresistible in the VanHouten brothers. What can I say? And can you believe we had a triple wedding! It even made the papers! We were the big news in town for quite awhile after that. And of course the tragedy made headlines.

After the wedding, we got offers for doing our own reality TV show, but turned them all down. We all had our own peaceful lives; owned beautiful homes located in different areas of town. There was always this friendly competition to see who could do just a little bit better than the others. Back in the day, if one got pregnant, the others made sure to get pregnant not too long afterwards. We wanted to maintain a close-knit family. We had college degrees and great but simple livelihoods, and we had the world in our grasp. Until we got the news...

It came so suddenly after we had said goodbye:

Francine, Lucille and Jessica, had finally found the time to plan a 'girls-only weekend retreat'. They were headed to a gorgeous place in Arizona, I forget the name, to be pampered and spoiled, as they put it. No fussy toddlers and no demanding husbands at their side, they were gonna be able to enjoy each other like they used to do as kids. They didn't want to go too far away, just in case there was an emergency. But far enough that it felt like a real vacation.

Unfortunately, it was just not meant to be. Just an hour outside of town, their car was hit by a sleep-deprived driver in an eighteen-wheeler. They all died instantly. The truck driver, too, after being treated for his injuries in a hospital for about 2 months; he never recovered. The officers told us this man hadn't had a decent hours sleep in 4 days; his boss said they had been short staffed. My brothers and I were devastated, to say the least. We moved to Simmington Hills to get away from all the publicity.

It wasn't a unanimous decision, by any means. Steve had a great teaching job in AZ. He was already attached to his students, so moving was a huge "no way" for him. Maxsim was on the fence for a long time. He'd just broken things off with his band. (His wife, Lucille, had been a backup singer.) It was just too painful for him to continue with it. He doesn't like change that much, so it took some convincing for him to agree on moving.

If it hadn't been for Nick Michels, I would've never thought about moving to Simmington Hills.

As I mentioned before, Nick asked me to be the new Tax Accessor. Every Spring, I'll be asking every Sim to come to my home office so I can calculate their taxes for the Administration. It's not much pay, but it's a nice little addition to my Executive Assistant job. I don't think too many Sims will be excited to meet me, but I'm not a wiseguy at all. I really appreciated Nick taking time out to come by and see how we were settling in.

With the opening at CPS for a Secondary Class Teacher, this place seemed perfect for us. Steve couldn't deny it, afterall. The reporters wouldn't give us a minute's rest in AZ. But this town is small enough that we don't have the same notoriety. We can start over again.