Easter Monday means it’s time for the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. This year the Obama family hosted 30,000 visitors who each got to spend two hours roaming the grounds participating in wide variety of events, from the traditional egg roll to a performance by Willow Smith. The event has been an annual tradition since 1878, and this year an unprecedented 200,000 people requested tickets in an online lottery.

President Obama kicked off the event with a salute to his wife, “who is doing extraordinary work not only helping military families, not only making sure that everybody is getting up and going, but is also keeping me in line.”

In keeping with First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaigns promoting exercise and healthy eating, this year’s theme is “Get Up and Go.”

“I’m a big proponent of getting up and going, making sure we’re moving and eating healthy. And this Easter Egg Roll reflects all of that. So while you’re here, in addition to listening to some great music and dancing a little bit, you can roll your eggs,” she told an excited crowd.  “You can do some yoga.  You can ... do [an] obstacle course, play basketball and tennis.” 

Harrison, Blake and Franklin Rodriguez traveled with their father by train to Washington from Georgia just for the Easter Egg Roll and another opportunity to see the president, whom they saw on a previous trip to Washington and when Obama was campaigning for office.

It’s also rather a thrill for the boys to witness an African-American family at the White House. "It’s very exciting and shows other African-American people that we’re capable of doing anything,” Blake said.

(Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)