Phase 8: Dos Vientos

We knew this day would come. Eventually. But honestly, we did EMPHATICALLY deny that it would ever come. I mean, I sort of recall saying that I would rather be a Republican than a suburbanite. I clearly was out of line with that comment. I will take suburbia over the Republican party any day! Especially OUR suburbia, Dos Vientos. It's kind of like a dream. A beautiful, wonderful dream; except that it's real...

The background story is that Jeremy had had enough of driving the 405/101 interchange or the PCH through Malibu Canyon and then onto the 101. And given that I was also about to start working at Amgen, it was natural that we would move a bit (a lot) closer to the campus where both Jeremy and I would work and Parker would go to daycare. 3 people commuting 80 miles per day? No thanks. So we moved. And we've now "settled" in Newbury Park.

"The community of Newbury Park, California is located in the western portion of the city of Thousand Oaks and Casa Conejo, an unincorporated area of southeastern Ventura County's Conejo Valley, which is also in the northwestern Greater Los Angeles Area. Newbury Park abuts the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, with main entrances at the northern edge of the park at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. The Conejo Valley was ranked as one of the top 100 places to live in the country by Money Magazine..."

(Yes, I just quoted Wikipedia. No, I never do that for papers in school.)

I guess if you're going to live in the suburbs, you should live in one of the top 100 suburbs in the U.S. We're not quite financially ready to buy a home, but we are spacially ready -- Parker has accumulated a lot of "stuff," mostly thanks to his generous grandparents. So we've rented a house in the lovely Dos Vientos Ranch neighborhood. It's beautiful, albeit borderline obnoxious: 4 bedrooms plus a den that has become Parker's playroom, 4 bathrooms, and a 3 car garage. The nearby outdoors are also fantastic. Lots of trails and running routes, bike lanes, public pools, and a pretty amazing playground for Parker.

Our Latest Home

We've signed a two-year lease, so we're going to be here at least through April 2016. Hopefully, we'll welcome a puppy and a little brother or sister for Parker into this home sometime before we move out. Because no house should really have more toilets than people. We cannot wait for family and friends to come visit -- there's plenty of space, come and stay for as long as you like!