This is one of those times when it's better to see than to read. Amber has been through so much since I last updated. (In home construction and renovation in real life has made free time very scarce.) Amber got into trouble, fell in love, and became a mother. See it all below! I promise, next update will be much more in my usual rambling style. 😉

Amber just couldn't seem to help herself. She loved the attention she got when she misbehaved... even if it was bad attention. From the very first day of high school, she vowed to make sure everyone knew who she was. She even aimed to make the principal her enemy. Unfortunately, she achieved that. She quickly became known as the one who never took classes seriously on the rare occasion she actually showed up. Amber also made life difficult for other students with her shenanigans. No one appreciated not having an available toilet when they needed one!

In such a large family, it seemed like there was always another birthday around the corner. This time it was Rusty and Amber moving into their teen years. It was clear pretty early on that Amber was a bit of a troublemaker. She just found a strange pleasure in annoying her family and the people around her. She also had a tendency to snoop and steal. Her love for baking... the one redeeming quality that she possessed... was kept secret from her family. She didn't like to show this softer side.

The move brought many changes to their lives. Judy found the new views to be very inspiring and took up painting... not that she could really find much time to actually do it! Barney was thrilled to have the extra time to share with his kids. He truly felt like he had five little best friends! The kids also really enjoyed spending their time together, as well. They were all very close and shared many interests, but also had their own hobbies. Phoenix enjoyed telling stories and had started to write them down in his journal.

Life was pretty darn great after Judy and Barney found their way back to each other, but Barney still felt like he had something to prove to Judy. He worked tirelessly to plan an elaborate birthday for Rusty and Amber. Judy was impressed with how hard he had worked and she truly saw why Barney had made the choice he did. Leaving his stressful job to pursue a passion and making time for the kids had made him a better, happier person. That night, she asked Barney if she could move back in.

Just when Barney didn't think he could take any more, he learned that his estranged father Owen had passed. Jim would always be the man that Barney considered his dad, but he couldn't deny he had begun to warm to the idea of trying to reconcile with Owen. Now he would never get that chance. He didn't want to ask the universe, "How much worse can it get?" He was afraid he would find out! Barney struggled for a bit while adjusting to life as a single dad. He celebrated a very sad and lonely birthday that year.

Yep, I'm the worst. Once again, we come to a Narrator Was Slacking And Now Tries To Tell You Weeks Of Info In Three Paragraphs post. I have an excuse, dear reader. I have many, actually. Since the last update, your intrepid Narrator has endured a sick kid, renovation injuries, family drama, sick cats, a sprained wrist, an eye infection, a broken stove, and much more! Our dear family is beginning to look less dramatic than their Narrator's life. 🤪 So, I will try my best to fill you in without being too brief...

Welllll, here we are... a massive update to try to catch everyone up on what has been happening with the Phyed family. Your dear Narrator has been admittedly struggling a bit health (human and pet), schedules, and family obligations in the Real World. Your best bet to truly know all that has happened will be to watch the videos within this post, but I will do my best to sum up Barney's college and early young adulthood experiences. Barney officially started university. It was a lot of deep study and focus for Barney.

After years and years of hard work and determination, Ashlyn reached the top of her career. Ms. Universe! And it all felt a bit emptier than she had expected. She'd lost precious time with her family and friends to get here. So, she decided to quit while she was on top and retired. This left Ash with many, many hours of free time. She went from not having enough to quite possibly having too much! Her husband Jim was there to fill in some hours. He had always been impressed with her natural ability to sing and he believed she could be quite good with just a bit of training.

After a LOT of hard work, late nights, and sore muscles, Ashlyn found her way to the top. She was officially Ms. Solar System! But it came at a cost. Her constant drive to be the best left her family behind. It might have been the worst time to bring yet another child into the family, but Kaye became the unexpected but welcome youngest member of the family. The arrival of Kaye seemed to spark the... well, spark... between Jim and Ashlyn. They were all over each other again!

YouTube video by ShellyE1 Sims 4 Content

Life in Nordhaven was... interesting. The home was a bit sparse at first, but their lives were full. They slowly built up their furnishings and made the house feel more and more like home. The kids celebrated birthdays and settled into their new school, quickly making new friends. Jim worked almost daily for work days lasting up to 20 hours. He quickly gained some renown in the community and his music business was constantly busy. He quickly grew from one piano to three and eventually added guitars and a microphone.

It's time to tell a bit of the story in pictures and short blurbs. A lot happened and yet nothing particularly unusual for day to day life. Well, okay, there was a fire, a promotion, and a new baby... and eventually a death... and then a big move. Jim was looking to improve his overall health and asked Ashlyn to mentor him. She was excited to see her husband embracing her hobbies. Jim was improving in other ways, too. He was doing well in his career and continued working on his song.

Life went on for awhile after Cypress' death and Ashlyn tried to make the most of every moment. She focused a lot on spending more time with Barney and working on being the best mom she could be for him. She also made sure to take time out of each day to pamper each pet. Her morning jogs with Sterling were probably one of her favorite times of the day. (Despite how upset she looks, she was always overwhelmed with happiness when she was on these jogs.) And, of course, Jim was a growing part of her life.

YouTube video by ConsoleGameHER

A very busy Ashlyn juggled sponsorship negotiations while prepping for Barney's birthday party. She wanted to make his day special, but she also wanted to make sure she had the income to make the rest of his life special too. It was amazing how many family and friends arrived to celebrate her little guy! She had felt overwhelmed by the planning of the party... hadn't even had time to change before it started... but it was all worth it to see her son's excitement. Her plans to cook a nice meal didn't quite pan out, but the guests seemed content with the pizza.

YouTube video by ConsoleGameHER

Ashlyn received the devastating news that her beloved childhood dog Boomer had passed on. There would be no more lengthy jogs through the old neighborhood and she would never get the opportunity to introduce Boomer to Sterling and Scraps. Ashlyn had a hard time shaking off the grief of this loss. It would take time to heal, but life insisted on carrying on. There were diapers to change, lessons to teach, pets to brush, and work negotiations to make. Ash was so grateful for the help of Nanny. It was a relief to know that everything would be okay while she was away at work.

It was heartbreaking when Owen, the father of her child, called to let her know he had met someone else... the very same Wiki that had dated her mother and had a child with her uncle, no less! Ashlyn had hoped she would at least have the help of her baby's father through all this. Owen had a crush... Ashlyn was crushed. The heartbreak was doubled when Ashlyn and Madilyn schemed together to test Owen and he responded to Madilyn's flirtation. There might have been a chance if it had only been a passing crush on Wiki, but he was clearly a serial flirt.

After some time away from dating, Ashlyn felt like getting herself out there again. Traditional dating had not really gone her way, so she decided to try Cupid's Corner. She struggled over what to say in her profile, but once it was complete, the matches rolled in. Two guys stood out, Lyle and Owen. She was most attracted to Lyle physically and wasn't looking for anything serious, so she set up a date with him first. He described himself as adventurous and good... two traits she admired. She invited him to meet her at the gym for some swimming and exercise.

James enjoyed the excuse to come to the city and he spent a lot of additional time with Ashlyn. They often kept their dates active, because Ash needed to stay fit for her career as Dance Team Captain. Scare-O-Ween was a very special date for them. Ash borrowed her mom's work uniform. After a quick stop by her brothers' place, she headed out in reaper style for a night on the town with James. Scare-O-Ween also happened to fall on the same night as that month's Thinned Festiveil. She and James headed there for the special activities that would be happening on this rare night when the two special days aligned.

Ashlyn's family gathered together at the family's favorite diner to welcome her into her adult years. It was an exciting time in Ashlyn's life! It was just a few days later when Ash moved into her very own apartment. The upside and downside were that her brothers lived right across the hall. It was nice to have someone nearby to keep her safe, but it also made her feel like she hadn't really gotten out on her own. It was going to be an exciting time in Ashlyn's life!

This was supposed to be multiple posts published over the weekend before today's YouTube video. Sorry for the mega-post, but I wanted to catch everyone up to the same timeline. After many years and many failed relationships, Roxy had all but decided that romance was dead. Or was it? Maybe romance was just there all along... With Roxy's girlfriend out of the way, Cypress began to stop by a bit more often to see the kids. It was less awkward now that there was less chance of running into another of Roxy's love interests.

Roxy was living a bit of a dramatic life... going from flights in space to exploring secret caves. Oh, and there was her girlfriend Wiki. Roxy was so into her and really felt like she was in love. Learning about Wiki's marriage was obviously a deal-breaker. Sure, Wiki tried all of the usual tactics... we're separated... we have been fighting for years... but the kids... you know the drill. Roxy wasn't going there again! As if the day of the breakup wasn't horrible enough, Roxy arrived home to a strange light.