Happy Easter!

We want to wish you all a happy Easter. Since we're far from all the family we had to try and keep a few traditions alive, but no golden egg. In spite of the never ending winter (we got about 6 more inches of snow on Friday) we're holding out hope that spring will come some day.








We were so happy at this point we could hardly contain ourselves. Don't worry Todd I made an egg with all of my favorite sports teams on it.











I think Ryan looks like a little school boy in this picture, so excited to get his treats from the Easter bunny. He surprised me with the movie Enchanted, it was really sweet.

p.s. Isakson Family, does this Easter pose look at all familiar?

A weekend to cherish, but never wish for again

We added a few new members to our family recently. Just kidding, we actually just babysat these four little angels for the weekend. Ellie is almost three and the boys are 1 1/2 years old. I (Ryan) have never done any babysitting in my life, so this was definitely an eye opener. Going from zero kids to four over night ain't easy.








Candice dealt with the kids like a true champion. Her experience at the daycare is really paying off. She changed all but one of the diapers and, in general, took care of most of the dirty work, including a nasty tantrum from Ellie on Sunday night.








Ryan challenged Ellie to a intense game of candyland and he lost. She actually made up her own rules and spent most of the time eating imaginary candy. He sure got some good daddy training.

More from our nation's capital

This is a statue of Brigham Young in the Capitol Building. Each state is allowed two statues of important people from their history. My old roommate Tristan took us on a nice tour of the building, it's very large and full of history.









A view of the Capitol Building from the outside.














We love nature. We especially love our friends, the elephants.












This is a plane built by the Wright Brothers in 1909 for the military. It is found in the National Air and Space Museum. Very cool museum, but we only had a short time to spend there.










Dad Isakson, we took this picture especially for you. These are George Washington's teeth. They were made from animal teeth and, I believe, lead-based paint.










At the Vietnam Memorial you can read the names of all of the fallen soldiers.













This is a picture by the pond next to the Jefferson Memorial. You can see the Washington Monument in the background.










The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is something I had never heard much about, but it was a really nice spot.











This is the Hope Diamond. It is a rare blue 54-karat diamond. It is located at the Museum of Natural History, which was another spot we had little time to appreciate.










The original Declaration of Independence and US Constitution are housed in the National Archives. The Declaration is really worn out and it is hard to read much from either document.

Our Blast to the Past

We had a short but memorable trip to Washington DC from Feb. 23-27. We saw all the sites you would ever hope for and enjoyed getting away for a few days. This first one is the Iwo Jima Memorial just outside of Arlington National Cemetery...quite impressive.








Here's the large and beautiful Washington DC temple, which is actually located in Maryland.












Mount Vernon was one of our favorite spots. This is where George Washington lived and built a beautiful mansion. It still has the feel of a colonial plantation and there is a spectacular view of the Potomac River from his backyard.










We weren't all that impressed with the White House, maybe that's because we couldn't get a tour and the fence kind of limited our ability to really take it all in. Still, it's cool to say we've been there now.








One of Ryan's favorite spots in DC. The Lincoln Memorial is classy, elegant, inspiring, serene, majestic, and beautiful beyond description. I (Ryan) think it's really funny to say how great this place is, because it gets Candice all worked up. It really is a nice place.


That's all for tonight. There should be more to come soon. Just hold tight.