Holy cow, it's hot. We've been uncomfortably happy recently and have decided that it must be a bad case of Spring Fever. Flowers are blooming. It's t-shirt weather. It's FEBRUARY.

Simon woke up with a cold on Wednesday morning but, by Friday evening, he seemed just fine. That was lucky for us because tonight we had reservations for a four course fondue feast at La Fondue in Saratoga. While we were away, Simon woke up to Calvin and the gang. They took him to our complex's play area and it looks like a lot of fun was had...

We thought about putting an offer on another house this week, a fixer upper with a backyard the size of a two tennis courts, but we think we'll hold off. We're not sure we're ready to gut a house and live next to a freeway just to get a great back yard. We've learned a few things recently about real estate - what makes a house get eleven offers in two days and what makes a house stay on the market for months...

Do...
Live in a cul-de-sac
Plant fruit trees
Have hardwood floors
Have large bathrooms and/or bedrooms
Build a large master bath
Add skylights

Do NOT...
Cover your entire backyard with concrete/stone/tile/brick
Have a pool - even if it has solar heat
Take up your entire backyard with an addition
Over remodel - taste isn't universal
Tile your living room and hallways
Turn your garage into a room that looks... just like a garage... but with TILE!
Remodel so that when you open the front door you walk right into the kitchen

After being marvelously happy about life, the weather, and the state of the universe, we opened our mail yesterday to find that our wonderful dentist in Palo Alto, someone we had both been seeing since 1997, died three weeks ago of a sudden heart attack. Dr. Jeff Frost was in his late 40s and was, literally, the most genuinely happy person either of us has ever met. Thrilled to be alive! Happy! And very very genuine. We watched him go from a single guy to a deliriously happy married guy to a guy with two little girls that he totally adored and he watched us go from a dating couple to a married couple to a family of three. He was physically active and fit and happy and it’s just a big shock. We were both looking forward to having our teeth cleaned to see him again and it's really sad that that isn't going to happen.

Dr. Frost would have wanted us to end this on a happy note so how about this photo, taken by Darienne, of us at the Las Madres Valentine Party last week.

New Director of "The Moms," Matthew shows his love