“Are you guys twins?”
“No, we’re quads.”
“So there’s three of you? Wow!”

This is a common conversation between any of my four younger siblings and a curious stranger. Twins are popular and triplets are rare, but quads are even more unique. According to a specialist at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin, Joseph Davis, the chances of having quads is one in seven-hundred-thousand. In my family, however, “quads” has become a common title for the four youngest children in my family. Any toddler is a handful, especially if there are other children for the parents to care for. My parents already had one boy and three girls before the quads came into the family. Having eight children within eleven years of each other has provided many unique experiences for my family.

In April 1999, my mom attended a regular check up appointment with her obstetrician. The doctor found two heart beats. Just to be careful, he decided to check for a third. Sure enough, my mom was having triplets. Almost as a joke, the doctor looked for a fourth baby. Both mother and doctor were shocked when four heart beats were discovered. My mom immediately called my dad, who was working and not able to attend the appointment. After one month on bed rest and three months in the hospital, on August 18, 1999, my family’s size doubled in a matter of minutes with three girls and one boy. My dad made it from Hurricane to Salt Lake City in record time! While many might think that quadruplets are two sets of twins with similar personalities, that is not the case in my family. They are all very unique, and in some cases totally opposite from each other. Kylie is the sweet, quiet animal lover. Kyle is the curious one who wants to know everything about anything. Kayla is easy going and sassy. Kaylee, the youngest, is the loudest and loves to socialize.

Since the day my mom discovered she would give birth to quads,  life has been crazy. My mom’s mother came from Miami, Florida to care for the four older children while my mom was in the hospital. We had to buy four of everything imaginable--four cribs, four car seats, four times the diapers, four baby swings, even a four seat stroller. I learned to change diapers at three years old and loved to drag the babies around “helping” my mom. For years my parents sat on opposite sides of the pew at church, just to keep the little rascals from running up to the pulpit and banging on the piano during services. As soon as they could walk, the quads were climbing out of their cribs. Even after my parents bought netted covers to keep them inside the cribs, Kayla unzipped the covers and let everybody else out, probably thinking herself a hero. So my mom started locking the zipper with a safety pin. No luck there, either.

Having a brother and three sisters the same age offered a lot more trouble for the quads to get into. One summer afternoon when the quads were about three, Kayla and Kylie found scissors during naptime. When my mom went in to check on them, she had quite the surprise when she saw two little girls stare up at her from their closet with scissors in their hands. Their hair was cut in jagged pieces, curtains and sheets were shredded,  and clothes were in shambles. When my mom was discussing with them to “never, ever, ever do that again,” Kayla had tired of the same words over and over. Slapping her forehead, she sighed “Oooookaaaaay, mooom!” That sassy little attitude is still around today. For example, one evening when the quads were around eight years old, the family was gathered around the kitchen table enjoying baked potatoes and barbeque chicken, a family favorite dinner. My oldest brother Tyler, nineteen years old at the time, was teasing Kayla about a classmate she had a crush on. Kayla, in a no-nonsense voice, replied with “Tylew, talk to the hand, ’cause the face don’t undewstand,” and held her hand up as if she were a strict traffic cop in Los Angeles.

When the quads reached age four, they were tired of being called the babies. When my dad asked what they would rather be called, Kaylee was the first to answer: “You know Daddy, I’ve been thinking about it and I would like you to call me (sigh) Jessabelle.” Kaylee was quite disappointed when she was answered with a laugh, and even more upset when the “babies” title stuck for a little while longer.
Around age five, “Joan of Arc” became a family favorite movie. However, it quickly became banned when the quads took it to a whole new level. One Sunday afternoon the quads decided to go downstairs to play. When my mom went down to the storage room, she overheard them playing Joan of Arc. When she heard the words “Hurry! Go get the matches!” she rushed in to see what trouble they had gotten into this time. Kyle, Kayla and Kaylee had Kylie tied up in the middle of the room, ready to burn her, “Just like Joan of Awc!” This movie was immediately banned for several years, which devastated me because I liked “Joan of Arc” even more than “Blue’s Clues”.

Years later, the quads are still entertaining us. When the quads were eleven, my family and I were gathered in the kitchen making turkey sandwiches out of the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving the day before. Everyone was discussing their long Christmas lists. Kylie, being the sweet, cooperative one, said, “Mom, as long as you’re there, I’ll be happy.”

Tyler, the oldest of the eight kids and always looking for an excuse to harass his siblings, commented “All Kylie wants is food for the homeless, socks for the orphans and world peace!”

“Shut up! I don’t even want world peace!” Kylie hollered, angry at the jab. This is still a favorite family quote today.

Kyle, usually calm and level headed, loves to give his sisters advice. When we participated in 4-H, we each had our own horses to ride and care for. Kaylee did not want to take her horse, Beauty, outside of the arena because Beauty always got nervous and became uncontrollable. Kyle, considering himself a big bad cowboy, told her that he could do it. So he did. Well, almost. They were riding around the fields by my house and Beauty did what she always did: threw a fit. She bucked and reared and bolted for the barn. Needless to say, Kyle ended up in the dirt. He was not happy. Never again did he offer advice for horses or situations he didn’t know.

There is never a dull moment at my house. Growing up with four younger siblings the same age has been a life long learning experience. Instead of having one baby of the family, there are four. There is no “seniority rules” when it comes to riding shotgun. Playing together, they could get in four times the trouble and have four times the fun. Being in many of the same classes, they often help each other with homework and remind the others of assignments, quizzes and tests. The three quad girls share everything, from their room to their clothes, makeup and jewelry. I won’t say I love every minute of it, but I will never tell you that I don’t love all of them.