“I love it,” 8-year-old Paisley said.

The sisters from East Palestine were part of a large contingent of children who descended on the lawn for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, the day after Easter, taking part in a tradition that dates back to 1878.

The daughters of Lindsay and Paul Johnston, they made the trip with their mom, Lindsay, and their grandparents, Traci and Rich Ketchum.

Each child who participated in the famous egg roll received a commemorative wooden egg which includes the image of the White House, the year and the signatures of President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

East Palestine sisters Paisley Johnston, 8, and Cora Johnston, 4, gently hold their eggs on wooden spoons at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the south lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. Monday. The girls were selected to take part in the tradition through a lottery system. (Photo courtesy of Traci Ketchum)

The event also featured an egg hunt, crafts and other activities for the kids to enjoy.

“I got to make my mom a flower bouquet,” Paisley said.

The Heartland Christian School second grader and sister Cora, 4, also colored pictures of the White House, tried to toss rings on bunny ears and ran through a maze which featured giant bunny ears with the Washington monument as a back drop.

Paisley said her favorite part was being in the egg roll and eating pizza at the hotel. She finished first in her group of eight to ten kids for the egg roll, using a wooden spoon to roll a real hardboiled egg across the finish line. The eggs were red, white and blue.

“I liked Go with YOYO,” Cora said.

The Johnston sisters, Cora, left, and Paisley, wore their red, white and blue during a visit to the Washington Monument as part of their recent White House Easter Egg Roll trip. They hail from East Palestine. (Photo courtesy of Traci Ketchum)

The children’s fitness and yoga performer featured on YouTube was on stage and had the kids dancing and pretending to be butterflies as part of the fun.

“We all had a really nice time,” mom Lindsay said.

The girls were part of the early time slot, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., the lines were long and it was cold, but Lindsay said the lines moved really fast, adding she’s never seen that many people in person in one place.

“Everybody that we met was really friendly. We felt extremely safe,” she said.

For the egg roll, participants were told to dress in their Easter best and the girls did, but the day before, they donned their red, white and blue to visit the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

“They were really big,” Paisley said.

Cora is a bit of an American flag fanatic and loved what she called the “Trump” flags that surround the base of the Washington Monument. She could not get over how tall the monument was.

The journey to the White House Easter Egg Roll was years in the making. Grandma Traci had been trying to get the girls an invite through the annual lottery system and this year, their mom and uncle also tried to enter them. This was finally their year to attend what their mom called a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

When asked if she would recommend the event, Traci said, “Absolutely. Everybody that knew we were going was so excited. I would like to see everybody get to go.”

Next year, visit recreation.gov and do a search for The White House Easter Egg Roll to see the rules and register for a chance to take part. Children must be under age 13 and can be accompanied by an adult. For 2026, the lottery registration opened on Feb. 26 and closed March 4.