New Stomping Grounds

We're diggin' our new neighborhood. I love taking walks around the block and waving to our neighbors. Though we've only met a few, everyone seems pretty friendly. We like the diversity of old, young, and just plain weird (we have a really strange neighbor that lives a few doors down).

We live in this quiet, hidden neighborhood that seems tucked away but it's also in the middle of everything. We're only a 10 minute walk or drive to anything - it's crazy.

The Murray Library is only like a 5 minute walk away and we've been there every week since we moved in. Leila's thoroughly enjoyed checking out books and reading new ones instead of the same ol' same ol'. They have a program called Wiggle Worms for kids that are too young for Story Time. So far we've only been once but Leila loves it and I've met some nice moms. Murray Park is also only a short 10 minute walk from our house. Greg and Shasta say they have the best farmers markets in the summer and I can't wait for that. It's been cold outside but we make sure to bundle up so Leila can play on the swings. When we went, there seemed to be a lot of nice moms playing with their kids. I chatted with one of the moms for a good 45 minutes, nice lady who's lived in Murray her whole life and gave me some good insight to schools and the neighborhood. Everyone says Murray has the best schools, reviews online are awesome.

But the very best thing about our new neighborhood is the fact that we live a whopping 9 minutes from Eric's work. Beats the 40-60 minute commute from Orem. Our quality of life is so much better because, well, it's kinda obvious. We get to see Eric more. He's usually home by 5:20, we have dinner, then have the rest of the night together. Nothing beats that. Nothing. 

On several occasions, I've heard/read that living closer to work and having a shorter commute (less than 30 minutes), increases your overall happiness. Makes sense and I've already seen a difference.