First thing I always did with the Grunt family (in sims 2) is give them all a make-over, and wipe the costume make-up off their faces!
I tried to get "The General" (I think that's his name?!) to date, but it didn't work out so well. Ripp married - it may have been Olive Spector (The younger one), and lived happily ever after in one of the smaller victorian-modern style houses from the sim bin in Strangetown :-) .
Be careful don't let the little boy burn the house down from the outside bar-b-que with no smoke alarm though.
