Love, Learn, Play: Keep Calm- The Twins are Coming!!!

Friday marked the beginning of the boys fourth Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio- a pretty incredible feat being that they aren't even four years old yet! It is one of our favorite weekends of the year and unless you've been there, its hard to describe why. Not a day has gone by in the last 3 years and 11 months that we haven't realized how unbelievably special it is to be a twin. Or to raise twins! But there's nothing like a weekend with thousands of sets of twins to really remind you how incredible it is to be born with your best friend who will be by your side for the rest of your life. As a mother, it makes me smile to see our boys among their peers- where no one is pointing at them and asking "Oh my gosh, are they twins?" Instead, everywhere they look they see people just like them and the only question asked is "Who's A and who's B?" followed by A scooping up A and B scooping up B as if they had always been meant for each other. Immediate bonds are formed, friendships between strangers who might share nothing else in common except that they innately understand what it means to be a twin- and that is strong enough to build a lifetime of friendships. And as a mother it also makes me smile to know that no matter what our boys go through- no matter how many times they fight over who gets the last red Lego or who got to the potty first or who got the blue spoon at breakfast- there is undeniable hope in the form of THOUSANDS of sets of twins that they will always be there for each other.

The boys didn't pull out a three-peat of the Mayor's Choice award, but that's okay because it was time to pass the torch for someone else to enjoy the glory! Their 13 foot tall giant beanstalk did win the best walking unit in the parade and they won the most alike male twin contest for ages 3 to 4, which makes mommy feel better about all the times I mix up my own kids!

So here is our weekend in photos. So so so many friends- many old, many new. It's hard to believe that at three years old there are people waiting for the boys to arrive and that there are already people the boys remember and look forward to seeing. If Twins Days is this incredible at three years old, I can't wait to see what it will be for our boys as they get older!!!!

We passed out a bunch of cards throughout the weekend to help us keep in touch with our Twinsburg family- so if you are new to our blog, please head over to our Facebook page and leave us a message! And be sure to stay tuned- after this post I promise I will update with a post on how Jon made the beanstalk since so many of you were wondering!!!

Friday- Pool Party and Weenie Roast

Thumbs Up- We're headed to the pool!!

Found our friends Jeff and Steve

Lots of girlfriends in Twinsburg!

Matthew and Michael were the very first twin friends the boys met in Twinsburg four years ago. They grabbed the boys from us the second we walked out to the pool and adopted them as their little brothers :)

Playtime with our big brothers

We just love these guys- Thanks for making the weekend so special for our boys!!!

Denise and Dianne are the second set of twins we ever met and we look forward to seeing them every year!!

Ready for the Weenie Roast! Keep Calm and Chive On!

So many twins! And even a set of quads!!!

Old friends...

And new friends!

Fraternal friends

Our buddies Richard and Robert- the boys don't look quite as tiny as they did when these guys held them four years ago!!!

Twins

And more twins!!!

Young twins

Bearded twins!

Tall twins!!!

More old buddies- Spencer and Skylar!

Saturday- The Double Take Parade

Here it is! Our 13 foot tall Jack and the Beanstalk! Not sure how Jon can out-do himself year after year, but he sure is getting quite the reputation :)