home sweet home

After our Minnesota vacation, which I still need to blog about, we headed to California to find a rental house. Yesterday afternoon with D day quickly approaching, Gus calls me and says, "you can stop looking, this is our house." It's the perfect little (emphasis on the little) house for all members of the Chunglund family. The neighbors (who also happen to be the landlords) are a very nice couple with two kids, ages 5 and 8. Juliet was already playing with the 5 year old. They have lived there for more than 12 years and love the area. We also met our across the street neighbors who have a 1 year old and a 4 year old.

The neighborhood is great. Close to work, close to Trader Joe's, close to a park and close to two great daycares that I'm hoping I can get Juliet into. Julie, our neighbor/landlord, said she would write up a little guide and give us ideas for restaurants, things to do, etc. After seeing how much fun Juliet was having at her house with her daughter, she even suggested that there was a date night in a future. Yippee!

The little bungalow is perfect for us right now 3 BR/1.25 BA. We've been living in a small apartment so don't have that much furniture anyhow. It comes with all appliances where some of the places we looked would have required us to purchase our own refrigerator and washer/dryer. Landscaping service is included so we will not have to mow the lawn. Most importantly, I have been wishing for a yard for Carleton for several months now as he seems a little anxious to get out and run. The back half of the garage (which was converted into a shed) has been finished into a room, which is climate controlled, and as a dog door to the fenced in backyard. I'm hoping Carl can use that room as his "dog house," while we are at work - instead of being crated. That way he can go in and out as he pleases and have a comfortable inside area when the weather is warm.

We only had three days to find something and I think we did a good job. This will be a great place to live for the next year and explore our new city.

our new home