Pri usually gets home from work at about the time where the twins go to bed. She's tired from the long day and can really use some peace and quiet, and it's not always her dream to dive right into bedtime routine. But she can't help feeling proud of her family and very attached to her caring husband.
On the other hand, when the kids have nightmares or refuse to sleep for other reasons, family life can feel almost unbearable. The non-committal part of her comes to life and she gets that sneaky feeling that she didn't plan for this life, it wasn't her first choice to start a family this early.
Whenever Pri feels trapped and needs to vent out her frustrations, Albert is the best listener. He's really good at dealing with it, since he's aware of her commitment issues and his biggest fear is her leaving him. He always listens carefully to her complaints and tries his best to remind her of her responsibilities now that they have a family.
But sometimes, it's really hard for him to get his message across - and their relationship seems rather fragile.
One of the things Albert has done to try to ensure Pri stays, is let her build a home lab in the house. So when she needs to get away from him and the kids, she'll usually lock herself in there and analyze samples or use the microscope.
She also enjoys pondering chess moves in the garden while watching her kids at a distance. Grandma is a babysitter pro.
And the twins are so happy with their new garden toys!
They haven't seen cousin Jenna and her daughter in a while, so Albert has invited them over for dinner.
Michelle Kalani is an adorable girl, she looks just like her mom.
Aurora has figured out how to get attention by knocking her plate of food to the floor. Albert is not a fan of this new habit.
But despite Aurora's misbehavior and Pri's slightly tense mood, they have a lovely dinner with Albert's favorite cousin.
One day at the gym, Albert runs into his ex girlfriend Silvia, who he broke up with in high school because she was always acting so jealous of Pri (for good reason, it turned out). She appears happy to see him, and they have a little chat while doing their workout.
They find it very nice to be able to catch up after all this time, so Albert invites her along to his wine tasting at the outdoor bistro.
They stay there for hours just chatting, until finally, after dark, Silvia has to head home.
He orders one final glass to review while his mind goes back to his teenage years. He would not have expected running into Silvia to be so pleasant!
Time goes by, and Pri still enjoys her work for the most part. But her life does feel kind of repetitive.
She has nice colleagues that she connects well with. Especially Viviaan, who does seem to be bit charmed by her. She enjoys the attention.
She sometimes hangs out with her colleagues in her free time, this time at a restaurant in Newcrest. She really likes their company, they make her life feel a bit more exciting than when she's at home. (And look who's in the background, on a date! How cute)
The thought of leaving Albert has crossed her mind many times, and lately she's just felt more and more smothered. She does love him, and if she could be with anyone for the rest of her life, it would probably be him. But she can't. So when she gets back home from the restaurant this evening, she heads to the kids' room first to kiss the sleeping beauties good night. And then she's decided.
Albert is still barely awake. He wants to cuddle, but Pri draws back immediately. And she knows that she has to tell him now.
This is Albert's absolutely biggest fear, and even though he knew Pri might not manage to stay with him forever, he's not sure how he's going to be happy without her. The breakup hits him with full force.
Pri's not happy about it either, and she tries to comfort him by saying he's the best man she's ever met. It's not his fault that she's leaving. But Albert doesn't want to hear it, anything she says pains him too much right now.
Pri spends the night on the couch in the study. And the next day, she moves out.
The kids have been a bit emotionally unstable since their mom left. They have been told they are going to see her regularly, but it's hard for their little minds to understand the situation. When they can't take their frustration out on an adult, they take it out on each other.
But luckily, they are still best friends and help each other keep the mood up as well. These days are a roller coaster.
Albert is finding it hard to have control of the kids alone, especially since he's not in the best emotional state himself. He's lost count of how many "oops, where are the kids now"-moments he has during a day.
He can't really get himself to be strict with them, though.
He tries his best to comfort them when they're in distress, which is quite often nowadays. But sometimes they're just as hard to comfort as himself.
"I want mom"
"Me too, darling"
"How about this: I make all your favorite foods for your birthday next week and we celebrate it in that park you like so much. Mom will be there, I promise."
"Birthday!!"
Time for the birthday party. Pri is there, but she and Albert don't talk much as it still feels too painful. The other guests are mainly families with children from the neighborhood.
The party is a success, and this is what Aurora and Jonatan look like as school children.
Nita is taking her grandkids for a camping trips the following weekend, so Albert can have some time to himself and try to sort out his emotional life. They go to the same cabin in Granite Falls that the family's always used before.
The children learn to play chess - in their own way.
Nita takes Aurora fishing while Jonatan goes to look for frogs and insects to collect.
Nita has become more and more fond of the outdoors as she's growing older. And she really wants to pass that enthusiasm on to her grandkids. They should learn to fish, collect and enjoy nature.
Back home, Albert is dealing with his feelings in a way that's not known to be very successful in the long term. He goes out clubbing and hopes to find someone who can comfort him. And sure enough, he finds Silvia.
Since his emotions are so numb from the breakup, he doesn't think through the consequences of what he's doing.
Albert is in such a need for affection now, he's reuniting with his former girlfriend even though it's just been a few days since Pri moved out. They have a long talk on the roof of the nightclub, and they both agree that they belong together.
Silvia is thrilled to have the love of her life back, thinking she won the fight against Pri after all. Albert just wants someone to hold.
Happily unaware of their father's rushed decisions back home, the kids are having a blast at their camping weekend. Nita has taken them up to the forest campground for the second night, so they can really get the nature experience.
Jonatan is already a big fan of insect collecting, he even dares to approach the really large and creepy mantises.
His sister enjoys an afternoon swim in the campground's natural pool.
In the evening, they all cook the fish they've caught that day over the campfire. Nita's plan is succeeding, the kids love being outdoors!
As they finish eating, it's time for a fairy tale. And then, a goodnight ghost story inside the tent.
Their ghost story attracted a ghost! He's like "Why am I here? I wanna go back to my grave where it's quiet."
The next day they're heading home, but first Nita makes breakfast by roasting some of the beetles Jonatan caught.
The kids have granola from the cooler. They're not that into the forest lifestyle yet.
But Jonatan takes the opportunity to catch some final bugs before they head home. "I got it!"
"I can hear it chirping"
When Nita and the children come home from the camping trip, they are in for a surprise. When everyone is seated around the dining table, including a woman the children have never seen before, Albert announces that this is "their new mom" who is going to live with them from now on. The kids are in shock and don't know how to react, so they react with scorn and are very rude to Silvia.
She doesn't exactly respond well to their rudeness. She's not used to kids and is still somewhat of a loner who is awkward around new people, so this first meeting with them does not go well.
After dinner the kids escape out into the garden, but Albert comes after them and asks them to be nice to Silvia from now on.
The next morning, Aurora actually manages to restrain herself from throwing a snarky comment to Silvia when she goes to get her lunch pack in the kitchen. She gives her a long silent look instead.
When school is over that day, Aurora and Jonatan both come home with school projects. While working on them together in the garden, they talk about how lame their father's new girlfriend is. Just then, Silvia comes out and carefully asks if she can help them with their projects. Jonatan lets her help with his solar system, but it isn't long before he starts being rude to her and laughing at her to her face.
After being humiliated by the children, Silvia finds Albert to complain about them. "You need to do something, I can't live here if your kids are this horrible towards me!" Poor Albert doesn't quite know what to do. But he just has to believe the children will get used to the new situation eventually.
Back to the fancy fashion district.
Say hello to teenage Mira! She's aged up to an active, cheerful high school student who still has an incredibly strong relationship to her grandmother.
Her mothers are busier than ever, and always stressed out. Family meals aren't always a pleasant setting.
But spending time with grandma is always amazing. Mira plays piano and guitar, and she hangs out at the art center a lot for practice.
After they've played piano together for a bit, they go over to the food stalls for a bite to eat. In the line, they meet Mira's uncle Birk!
Mira loves talking to grandma Tameka and hearing about the family history, and about her great-grandparents that she never got to meet.
Mira has also started going to parties, mostly with her friend Micaela.
Tara and Kimi are enjoying most evenings at home together now that they're getting older.
At the club, Micaela has started a plan to match Mira with a guy called Henri, who she thinks will suit Mira well.
And sure enough, it doesn't take long before Mira is dragging Henri away from the dance floor and getting her first kiss from him.
When she gets home a while later, she realizes she's broken curfew. Kimi is not very understanding about the mistake - when she catches her in the hallway, she gives her a real talking to.
The next morning, Mira's still feeling really tired when leaving for school. This is going to be a hard day.
When she gets back home, she's completely exhausted. Tameka is understanding and lets her have a long nap on the couch before dinner.
After dinner, Tameka helps her with her current school project. Mira isn't an excellent student, she's not really willing to work towards an A. But she's doing fine.
Saturday at the pool park! Mira is hanging out with friends all morning, including her new flame Henri. He's cool to hang out with in the daytime as well, and he and Mira are flirting quite a bit.
In the afternoon, she meets up with Tameka for some ice cream in Willow Creek. Still happily unaware about what's going to happen in the evening. Tameka has hit the age where her time to pass can come at any minute.
It's not a happy Saturday evening for the Selnes family. Suddenly and unexpectedly, they lose their dear mother and grandmother.
What's going to happen to Mira now? Tameka was probably the most important person in her life. Her mothers' busy lives have alienated them a bit from their daughter lately, they've all been dependent on Tameka's presence in the house for comfort and structure.
Over the next few days, Mira really tries to keep it together. Unlike her mothers, she can't take her mind off the loss for a single moment throughout the day.
But her emotional state is very fragile, and she ends up having a lot of temper tantrums over small things. Her emotional control has hit a new low, and now with Tameka gone she's not getting a lot of parental guidance anymore.
Henri is a relatively calm and sensible person, and getting into a relationship with him is probably a good thing for her.
They now go to all the parties together, and are becoming very close.
When she can't stand the thought of going home, she stays at Henri's place in Uptown. His parents don't interfere.
But she can't constantly avoid going home. After having a shower she heads back to the fashion district, and hopes her parents will be at work so she can skip school.
Comments
On the other hand, when the kids have nightmares or refuse to sleep for other reasons, family life can feel almost unbearable. The non-committal part of her comes to life and she gets that sneaky feeling that she didn't plan for this life, it wasn't her first choice to start a family this early.
But sometimes, it's really hard for him to get his message across - and their relationship seems rather fragile.
She also enjoys pondering chess moves in the garden while watching her kids at a distance. Grandma is a babysitter pro.
And the twins are so happy with their new garden toys!
Michelle Kalani is an adorable girl, she looks just like her mom.
Aurora has figured out how to get attention by knocking her plate of food to the floor. Albert is not a fan of this new habit.
But despite Aurora's misbehavior and Pri's slightly tense mood, they have a lovely dinner with Albert's favorite cousin.
They find it very nice to be able to catch up after all this time, so Albert invites her along to his wine tasting at the outdoor bistro.
They stay there for hours just chatting, until finally, after dark, Silvia has to head home.
He orders one final glass to review while his mind goes back to his teenage years. He would not have expected running into Silvia to be so pleasant!
She has nice colleagues that she connects well with. Especially Viviaan, who does seem to be bit charmed by her. She enjoys the attention.
The thought of leaving Albert has crossed her mind many times, and lately she's just felt more and more smothered. She does love him, and if she could be with anyone for the rest of her life, it would probably be him. But she can't. So when she gets back home from the restaurant this evening, she heads to the kids' room first to kiss the sleeping beauties good night. And then she's decided.
This is Albert's absolutely biggest fear, and even though he knew Pri might not manage to stay with him forever, he's not sure how he's going to be happy without her. The breakup hits him with full force.
Pri's not happy about it either, and she tries to comfort him by saying he's the best man she's ever met. It's not his fault that she's leaving. But Albert doesn't want to hear it, anything she says pains him too much right now.
Pri spends the night on the couch in the study. And the next day, she moves out.
But luckily, they are still best friends and help each other keep the mood up as well. These days are a roller coaster.
He can't really get himself to be strict with them, though.
He tries his best to comfort them when they're in distress, which is quite often nowadays. But sometimes they're just as hard to comfort as himself.
"I want mom"
"Me too, darling"
"How about this: I make all your favorite foods for your birthday next week and we celebrate it in that park you like so much. Mom will be there, I promise."
"Birthday!!"
The party is a success, and this is what Aurora and Jonatan look like as school children.
The children learn to play chess - in their own way.
Nita takes Aurora fishing while Jonatan goes to look for frogs and insects to collect.
Nita has become more and more fond of the outdoors as she's growing older. And she really wants to pass that enthusiasm on to her grandkids. They should learn to fish, collect and enjoy nature.
Since his emotions are so numb from the breakup, he doesn't think through the consequences of what he's doing.
Albert is in such a need for affection now, he's reuniting with his former girlfriend even though it's just been a few days since Pri moved out. They have a long talk on the roof of the nightclub, and they both agree that they belong together.
Silvia is thrilled to have the love of her life back, thinking she won the fight against Pri after all. Albert just wants someone to hold.
Jonatan is already a big fan of insect collecting, he even dares to approach the really large and creepy mantises.
His sister enjoys an afternoon swim in the campground's natural pool.
In the evening, they all cook the fish they've caught that day over the campfire. Nita's plan is succeeding, the kids love being outdoors!
Their ghost story attracted a ghost! He's like "Why am I here? I wanna go back to my grave where it's quiet."
The kids have granola from the cooler. They're not that into the forest lifestyle yet.
But Jonatan takes the opportunity to catch some final bugs before they head home. "I got it!"
"I can hear it chirping"
She doesn't exactly respond well to their rudeness. She's not used to kids and is still somewhat of a loner who is awkward around new people, so this first meeting with them does not go well.
After dinner the kids escape out into the garden, but Albert comes after them and asks them to be nice to Silvia from now on.
The next morning, Aurora actually manages to restrain herself from throwing a snarky comment to Silvia when she goes to get her lunch pack in the kitchen. She gives her a long silent look instead.
After being humiliated by the children, Silvia finds Albert to complain about them. "You need to do something, I can't live here if your kids are this horrible towards me!" Poor Albert doesn't quite know what to do. But he just has to believe the children will get used to the new situation eventually.
Back to the fancy fashion district.
Say hello to teenage Mira! She's aged up to an active, cheerful high school student who still has an incredibly strong relationship to her grandmother.
Her mothers are busier than ever, and always stressed out. Family meals aren't always a pleasant setting.
But spending time with grandma is always amazing. Mira plays piano and guitar, and she hangs out at the art center a lot for practice.
Mira loves talking to grandma Tameka and hearing about the family history, and about her great-grandparents that she never got to meet.
Tara and Kimi are enjoying most evenings at home together now that they're getting older.
At the club, Micaela has started a plan to match Mira with a guy called Henri, who she thinks will suit Mira well.
And sure enough, it doesn't take long before Mira is dragging Henri away from the dance floor and getting her first kiss from him.
The next morning, Mira's still feeling really tired when leaving for school. This is going to be a hard day.
When she gets back home, she's completely exhausted. Tameka is understanding and lets her have a long nap on the couch before dinner.
After dinner, Tameka helps her with her current school project. Mira isn't an excellent student, she's not really willing to work towards an A. But she's doing fine.
In the afternoon, she meets up with Tameka for some ice cream in Willow Creek. Still happily unaware about what's going to happen in the evening. Tameka has hit the age where her time to pass can come at any minute.
What's going to happen to Mira now? Tameka was probably the most important person in her life. Her mothers' busy lives have alienated them a bit from their daughter lately, they've all been dependent on Tameka's presence in the house for comfort and structure.
Over the next few days, Mira really tries to keep it together. Unlike her mothers, she can't take her mind off the loss for a single moment throughout the day.
But her emotional state is very fragile, and she ends up having a lot of temper tantrums over small things. Her emotional control has hit a new low, and now with Tameka gone she's not getting a lot of parental guidance anymore.
They now go to all the parties together, and are becoming very close.
When she can't stand the thought of going home, she stays at Henri's place in Uptown. His parents don't interfere.
But she can't constantly avoid going home. After having a shower she heads back to the fashion district, and hopes her parents will be at work so she can skip school.