I have been excited about adding one final piece to our big family… a kitty-cat. I have always wanted to find a kitty as wonderful as  my-boy, Bailey, who passed way too early due to kidney failure. I have never found any kitty come close to his perfection. While no kitty will ever replace Bailey… Ruby is a pretty amazing gal!

I have been searching through local shelters via the internet and have visited a few kitties that just did not meet the Johnson Family criteria. Early last week, Ruby popped up and her description sounded like she would fit into our family. James and I headed to the local shelter and as soon as Ruby fell into my arms I knew she was the girl for me! We surprised Josh, Abbie, and especially Max by bringing the newest member of the family home!

She still amazes me every time I look at her. She snuggles. makes funny little noises as she roams from room to room. she sleeps on our heads at night. she loves to hang with abbie. loves to play with james. loves to tease max. loves to be loved. she is perfect.

She came to us as Robin and was originally Batman (until they figured out she was a girl). We call her Ruby because now we have Max and Ruby (names of characters from a favorite children’s book & cartoon).

She has a purple collar, purple food & water dishes, and a pretty-purple manicure! These are called soft-paws. They cover the nail so the kitty can’t scratch up the furniture. It’s like having a de-clawed cat without having them go through the painful procedure… plus it’s super cute!

Max and Ruby. They are learning to not only like each other… they really kind of love each other!

We love them both so much! Aren’t they cute??!

Now that the weather is nicer, we’re finding ourselves outside more often.

James and Max love to play inside & out.

My three boys – they all love to play!

Josh is cutting down shrubs we don’t want or need in an attempt to start creating more of a design we do want. It’s a big yard and a big task… we are being patient and working in baby-steps. In the meantime, Josh enjoys burning everything he cuts down!

The pool deck and liner are also on that long list of To-Do’s. In fact, the deck was a priority to strip, plane, replace old screws, and stain over our Spring Break… that was until we saw the 7 Day Forecast: Rain, Wind, and more Rain! Great, Happy Spring Break. While the pool waits for upgrades, it’s a great place to find water bugs, frogs, and frog spawn. So it is James’ new favorite place to go adventuring.

We will see what Spring Break brings… we were hoping it would be LOTS of outdoor repair. We may be changing some plans. Even though the weather is a bummer, the good news is — We have the next week off.

James has been home sick all week. Josh and I have been sharing days home. I love staying home, Josh not so much. If only he could give me his sick days! Max has loved having people home with him all day.

Here they are… Brothers

Beautiful Boy ~ Beautiful Flowers ~ Picture Perfect!

Max sits in the living room and barks as the petals flutter from these trees. When I brought these stems in, he was very curious and cautious.

Days home with James call for some baking…

…SPRING IS HERE,

Check out our yard & what we’ve been up to…

Our fragrant cherry trees are blooming! We were not in our house last year at this time, so we did not see yard as Winter moved into Spring… it’s bright, beautiful, and smells wonderful!

These little wind-twirlies add fun and color to the front of the house.

While waiting for Max at the groomers the other day, James and I decided to go flower shopping. We picked out primroses and planted them out front to add some pretty color. He was a big help for about 2 minutes then was side-tracked by spiders and bugs.

We had a pool-guy come give us a bid for a new liner in the pool. He had some exciting patterns for liners, just a little more expensive than traditional blue… these are the ones we thought were kind of cool. Josh now thinks he might be able to do the liner on his own, which would be a huge $$ savings!

Last Sunday we saw Ariel play a part in Disney’s Beauty & the Beast. The show was amazing with the effects, costumes, and talent. A good time.

James worked and worked and was able to cut open this cantalope with a butter knife.

Here he works very patiently to get this dragon painted up just right.

Josh made these up for us one night… a great taste of Spring!

Wendy this post is for you!

Steph, Derek, and the Girls are in the process of purchasing a home. As usual, the process is slower than anticipated… but as you will see, well worth the wait.

The house sits in a lovely Camas neighborhood.

(Right) The grand entryway (Left) Looking down from the upstairs

Looking up into the loft and upstairs area

Formal Dining / Living Room

Family Room(downstairs)

Kitchen Area

Home Office

Jack-n-Jill Bath between Girls’ Bedrooms

Master Bedroom and Bathroom

Loft

Bonus Room / Play Room

Laundry Room

Backyard

This weekend was wonderful… relaxing, got lots done, spent time with family.

took some fun pictures of the kids still wearing their matching Christmas jammies.

james. amara. max. hanging out and playing on our bed.

abbie taking care of her sweet baby-girl, Scrunchy Bug.

This dried fruit is FABULOUS. We found it at Costco and it’s truly heavenly. Dipped in dark chocolate makes it even more special.

The weekend passed too quickly and too full of responsibilities. Last night, I rushed home to put on a roast. I planned a Family Night. Just us. It was nice. Relaxing. We had down-time. The roast was tasty.

We played Yahtzee. It was a little loud for me. I need the old-school leather covered dice cup!

James and Max played a round, but quickly moved onto other things more exciting!

I love Family Nights. We need more of them.