olympic gym

November 2040 - Tom Smith is 34, Madison Miller-Kim is 32, Brooklyn Miller-Kim is 8 (Jamie Phillips is 31).

Tom has been a soccer star for a long time, and he decides it's time to move on. He's been thinking about starting a business for a while, and he finally does it.

wanderlust

August 2037 - Martin Miller and Miranda Kim are 57, Tom Smith is 31, Madison Miller-Kim is 29, Brooklyn Miller-Kim is 5.

Now that they have a daughter starting school, Madison and Tom decide it's time to buy a real house.

in search of a ninja

May 2034 - Martin Miller and Miranda Kim are 53.

Since Madison is grown and living on her own, Martin and Miranda have been taking advantage of their empty house by taking frequent trips to Takemizu Village.

They bought a vacation home in Takemizu Village after their first vacation there.

an unexpected arrival

October 2032 - Tom Smith is 26, Madison Miller-Kim is 24.

Madison and Tom came back from Twikkii Island refreshed, relaxed... and with an unplanned pregnancy.

a tropical New Year's

January 2032 - Tom Smith is 25, Madison Miller-Kim is 23.

Tom and Madison split Thanksgiving and Christmas with their families, so she suggests they spend New Year's alone at Twikkii Island.

They have a lot to celebrate; Tom has been inducted in the Soccer Hall of Fame, and Madison's dance career is a huge success. She teaches classes in ballroom dance, but she's also pursuing a career as a ballet dancer.

heartbreaker

Fall Semester 2028 - Madison Miller-Kim is 20.

Madison knows what other people say about her - maneater, heartbreaker. She's never thought of herself that way. She'll concede that she's had a lot of boyfriends, and she's noticed that she's always the one who walks away. But the truth is a lot more complicated than those epithets imply.

love is in the air

Spring Semester 2028 - Jackson Cooper, John Smith, Tom Smith, and Abby Stein are 21; Rachel Cooper, Madison Miller-Kim, and Pierce Phillips are 19; Jamie Smith is 18.

One spring day John suggests that he and Abby go on a date to the park.

"Shouldn't we go home? It's starting to rain." she suggests.

"In a minute." This isn't just another date, he has something specific planned.

omg drama

Fall Semester 2026 - John Smith is 20, Tom Smith is 20, Jackson Cooper is 20, Abby Stein is 20, Rachel Cooper is 18, Madison Miller-Kim is 18.

Rachel and Madison are freshman this year, and with them comes a whole heap of drama!

a trip out east

November 2025 - Martin Miller and Miranda Kim are 45, Madison Miller-Kim is 17 (Tom Smith is 19).

Madison is leaving for college next year, and her parents decide to celebrate by taking her on a trip to Takemizu Village.

young love

2020 - Madison Miller-Kim is 12, Tom Smith is 14.

Madison is 12 the year she first notices boys. Specifically, she notices Tom Smith. They've been friends for years, but now she sees him in a completely new way. She notices his floppy brown hair and dreamy brown eyes, and her insides feel all gooey. He seems to notice her too.


One fall afternoon they meet at the park. At first they keep it light, joking and laughing just like when they were younger. But then the topic turns to dance. Madison's been a ballet dancer since she was five; Tom's a soccer player and thinks dance is just a silly girl thing.

"I don't dance," he insists.

"You wouldn't even dance with me?"


And he does, and her heart flutters, and it's everything she dreamed it would be - her first kiss, her first love.


But even though she loves Tom, she also loves boys. It isn't long before she's back at that same park, dancing with another boy, Justus Lim.

baby time

2007 - Martin Miller, Miranda Kim, James Smith, and Anne Smith are 27; John Smith and Tom Smith are 1.

Martin, Miranda, James and Anne have been friends since their freshman year of college. They lived in the same dorm all four years; they've shared beers and soccer games and late-night gossip. They are and always will be best friends, but now when they get together it's a little different.

Martin and Miranda haven't seen a lot of James and Anne since the birth of their twins. One night when the twins are a little over a year old, they are invited over for dinner.

"Nothing fancy," Anne warns them. "Just chicken noodle soup. But we'd love to see you again, and we'd love for you to see the boys."

James and Anne are both American history buffs; they named their twins John Adams Smith and Thomas Jefferson Smith. John is the older twin, and he's already a serious little boy. Tom is sillier, always quick to laugh. Miranda has never thought of herself as a baby person, but she spends hours playing with blocks with John and watching Tom color.

James asks the obvious question over soup: "So when are you two going to have your own kid?"

Miranda and Martin exchange glances. "We haven't really talked about it," she admits. "We've been --" She pauses, uncertain how to finish the sentence. She and Martin have been focused on their careers ever since graduation.

"Are you two going to have any more?" Martin asks, changing the subject.

"We're planning to," Anne replies. "We've always wanted a big family. But the twins are a handful. I think we're going to have to wait a few years before we have more kids." She smiles so they know she's only teasing. "Just don't wait too long. Don't you want our kids to grow up together?"

Miranda brings up the subject in bed that night. "We could have a baby," she suggests.

"Do you want a baby?" Martin asks.

"Do you?"

He's quiet for a moment. Martin is a thoughtful guy, he never says anything without thinking it over. "Yeah," he says. "We've talked about having kids before, but it's always been in the future. But I think we're ready now. We both have good jobs. We're happy at work, and we could take some time off." He smiles. "Yeah. Let's make a baby."

Martin's never been an overly emotional guy. He doesn't get down on one knee and make wild romantic gestures. He reasons things through. But Miranda can see what underlies his lists. He loves her, and she loves him, and they're going to have a family together.

"Okay then," she smiles. "We'd better get to work."

I didn't take any pictures of their newborn baby, but they had a girl, Madison Miller-Kim. These updates have been pretty sporatic, but once there are more family members to play with, hopefully I'll have something to say for each family every year.