California Dreamin'

Welcome to our tour of Southern California. It starts off on Mother's Day at Candice's grandparents' house and a tasty spaghetti dinner. This is our magazine cover pose.










Next we take you to the magical world of Disneyland. This castle is fit for a queen like Candice. The happiest place on earth didn't disappoint.










This was my first experience posing with a Disney character and I have to say it was a memory I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

To infinity and beyond!














Splash Mountain sounded like a good idea until our shoes got soaked and shorts sopping wet on a 60 degree day.











Candice's favorite part about Disneyland: churros! Oh yeah, and being close to me at sunset.











It wasn't the sunniest morning ever at the beach, but this rocky little spot was nice and quiet.

This is Candice speaking: If you look to the right, there is a tall rock. Well, let's just say that I had to rescue Ryan because he decided to climb to the top without any shoes on.

Ryan: Thanks, honey. You're my hero.





By the afternoon the sun had come out and we found a prettier beach in Laguna. We were lucky enough to meet up with some of my (Ryan's) family to eat lunch and play at the beach with them.









We drove for an hour and a half up a windy mountain to more than 7,000 feet elevation for this hike. The 2 miler was worth it for sure. This spot is called Big Bear Lake and we had a beautiful view from the top of these boulders.









Here we are at the Redlands temple for Katie's (Candice's best friend) sealing. The day was colorful and bright just like Candice's bridesmaid outfit. Isn't my little flower girl so pretty?










This trip was so great it left us smiling all the way back to Michigan. We'd like to thank the Robinson's for being such gracious hosts and keeping our bellies full all week long.

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.

Living It Up in Michigan

Candice is the new queen of cheesecake. This strawberry delight was heavenly, too bad that we got dissed by all the couples we invited to share it because they were probably watching the Super Bowl.










Candice has become a master decorator. Everything in the house looks great, except for that tiny little t.v. If anyone is feeling generous...










Don't even ask about this one. Sometimes we just share a special feminine bond.











The week after the face masks we had to go to Cabelas to restore my manhood.

We love being married! It's fun!

My search for my wedding ring became one of desperation...












Look at Ryan's pancake flipping abilities...I never knew he had it in him.












We didn't have a table for the first two weeks after we moved here, so Candice's storage bin had to do.











Although Candice has become quite the chef, things don't always come out according to plan.












Nose strips...you gotta try 'em!














We love the snow. Yay for snow!