The Splashy Otters move to Sweet Berry Valley

Dear Readers,

Let me introduce you to Amanda and Glenn Splashy, a newly married couple, who are about to set up their first home together in Sweet Berry Valley.
As you can see, they are fully equipped to do some home improvement in their new cottage.

Today they are going to start wallpapering.
"Let´s get on with it"

Glenn didn´t mind having bare walls at all but Amanda insisted that wallpaper could help  make their home more inviting and comfortable.

After working all morning they were very pleased with the results. 

"We did a good job, don´t you think so Amanda?"
"Definitely,Glenn! You see, I told you! The wallpaper makes a big difference to the room."
"What about having a break now? I´m so hungry,my stomach´s rumbling! Glenn said looking forward to having something to eat.

"It was a good idea to bring some lunch with us". Amanda said opening the food basket.
"Let´s have our first picnic in our front garden!" Glenn suggested.

Enjoy your meal!

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A few days later, once the whole place was wallpapered, they cleaned their cottage and waxed the floors. The house must be ready before the furniture arrives.They are so excited about settling into their new home that even cleaning was fun!

Even though the funiture is already ordered Amanda keeps browsing through home interior catalogues.
"I´m looking forward to having our home fully furnished, Glenn".
"Me too, love! I can´t wait to move here with you".

The place is spotless!You did a good job!

Now, it´s time to leave and have a good rest.You really deserve it after all the work you have done in your new house.

"We´ll come back soon. The furniture should be delivered in a few days"

"Bye-bye!" "See you".

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Some days later The Splashys came back to their cottage. The delivery people were going to bring the furniture that they had ordered for their new home.

"Where shall I put this chair Ma´am?" asked one of the delivery guys with a very strong forest accent.

"Just leave it here" Amanda said happy to have furniture at last.

"The cooker and the sink on this side of the wall,please,just below the window" Amanda told the delivery man. "He sure was a strong guy". She said to herself.

"The bed goes here, please" Amanda said pointing where the bed should be placed.

When the delivery guys brought all the furniture into the cottage Amanda and Glenn offered them something to drink.

"We don´t have much to offer but I was wondering if you would like some coffee and biscuits" Amanda asked the delivery guys who looked a bit tired after lifting and carrying the pieces of furniture.

"Sure, Ma´am! You´re so kind!" Both of them gladly accepted.

Amanda and Glenn were over the moon! At last they could move into their new home, their first home together!

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A couple of days later, they rented a car to bring the rest of their belongings.

They were busy taking stuff out from the car when The Neptunes stopped by in front of their cottage.

"Hi,we´re The Neptunes. My name is Caspian and this is my wife Narrisa. We live just two houses down from you.We just wanted to say hello and welcome you to the village."

"Nice to meet you! We´re The Splashy,I´m Glenn and this is Amanda, my wife. As you can see we´re in the proccess of settling into our new home".

After they introduced themselves, Caspian offered Glenn to help him carry the stuff into the house.
"Let me give you a hand, Glenn, that big hamper looks very heavy!" 

Narrisa gifted Amanda with a welcome basket.

"Oh,thank you so much! That´s so kind of you!

Amanda was so grateful for such a thoughtful gift that she invited Narrisa to come into her place.


"I´d love to offer you a cup of tea but we had to pack so many things this morning that I forgot to put the flask and the picnic basket into the car" Amanda apologized."I promise we´ll treat you to coffee when the whole place looks a bit more homey".She added.

Narrisa was so friendly that Amanda had the feeling she had known her for a long time.

"Don´t you worry, Amanda!I completely understand! I´m sure we´ll have the chance to  sit down and have a proper chat over a cup of tea once you´ve settled in. By the way, you said you forgot your picnic basket so that means you didn´t bring any lunch with you, am I right? Narrisa asked.

"That´s right, Narrisa! I was going to ask you where we can buy some food or have something to eat". Amanda inquired her new friend."We haven´t had much time to explore the village yet".

"Do you like seafood?" Narrisa asked.

"Seafood? I love seafood and so does Glenn! 

"Did someone said seafood?" Glenn asked as he heard one of his favourite words. Just the idea of a plate of seafood made him drool. 

"I was asking Amanda if you liked seafood because we own a seaside restaurant. Today is our day off so we don´t have any reservations.I was wondering if you would like to join us for lunch and relax at the the beach afterwards. I can cook paella, it´s my speciality".

Amanda and Glenn were overwhelmed by the kindness of their new neighbours. They felt very lucky to have met such a friendly couple so they accepted their invitation.

"Take your time to organize your place a little bit. There´s no rush". Narrisa told

Amanda . 

Caspian gave them directions to get to the coast "…and the restaurant is just in front of the beach, a white building with a blue door. You can´t miss it!

"We´ll see you at lunch time, then" The Neptunes said as they were leaving their new neighbours´s home.

When the Neptunes left, Amanda showed Caspian the welcome gift basket Narrisa gave them.It included a little plant,a picture, an ocean breeze scented candle,a flier with all the local business and services available in Sweet Berry Valley and two cinnammon rolls from the watermill bakery.

"We are so lucky to have the Neptunes as neighbours, don´t you think so, Glenn?"

We are indeed, Amanda! And you know? Caspian is a fisherman and he offered me to work with him in case I was looking for a job! Isn´t that great?"

"All this excitement is making me feel a bit peckish. Shall we have a roll, Glenn" Amanda knew her husband would never say no to a pastry.

"Of course!" I need something to restore my energy after unloading all the stuff from the car!"

The cinnammon rolls were delicious.

"We must pay a visit to that watermill bakery one of these days!"  Glenn said as soon as he took the first bite.
"We´ll have to explore the village once we settle in". 

When it was nearly lunchtime they hit the road.

The beach was not far from the village. It only took them around ten minutes to get there.

"Here we are! A white building with a blue door". This must be the place".

Once inside the restaurant, the Neptunes gave their guests a warm welcome.They introduced them to their daughters and they  all sat at a table ready to dive into the seafood paella.

Caspian brought a bottle of wine to have with the meal.

"Amanda, would you like some wine?" Caspian offered her.

Amanda hesitated for a second. "Well...the thing is...I´d love to but...I´m not supposed to drink.We´re expecting a baby.I´m two months pregnant. She finally said with a shy smile.

"This is great news! Congratulations!" 

Narrisa, Capian and even Shelly and Sandy, their daughters, cheered when they heard the good news.

 

"This deserves a toast!" Narrisa said.

Caspian poured some wine into the glasses, except in Amanda´s one where he put some water instead.

When all the glasses were filled, Narrisa raised her glass and said:

"I´d like to propose a toast to our new neighbours and their upcoming little one. Hope you are very happy in Sweet Berry Valley".

They all raised their glasses and took a sip.

Shelly and little Sandy joined in the toast too.

Amanda and Glenn thanked their hostess for their kindness and friendly welcome to Sweet Berry Valley. 

The Neptunes and the Splashys had a lovely meal and an enjoyable conversation followed by a relaxing walk along the beach and a non- alcoholic cocktail at Peter´s and Peace´s beach bar.

Amanda and Glenn had a feeling this was going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship and a happy life in their new home.

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This story is my contribution to Challenge#13 in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community. This fortnight´s challenge was a free challenge.One of the potential ideas was to work on a challenge that you have missed earlier in the year.

One of the previous challenges I didn´t have time to take part  was challenge#11 New Neighbours. I have several families that I haven´t introduced yet so I decided to write a story about the  latest family I added to my collection: The Splashy Otters.

I meant to divide this story in different parts but finally I posted it as just one long story. 

Hope you have enjoyed meeting Amanda and Glenn Splashy.I love their cute chubby faces and the way they seem to smile all the time.

See you soon!

Hugs!