Imagine getting together with your family and having over 30 people in the household. Or being a senior in high school and already having 13 nieces and nephews.

When the fertility rate in America is about 2 kids, 5 or 6 might seem like a lot, but to Therese Madison, senior, 11 siblings is just her normal family life.

Although Madison only lives with her two younger siblings, when the whole family gets together it can definitely get crazy, she said.

“One of the traditions that we started recently is a family camp out in my house’s backyard. Together it’s about 30 of us, when we all are in one place,” Madison said. “If you can imagine 30 people sleeping outside in tents in one backyard, including 13 kids [nieces and nephews] all under the age of 10, I’m sure you get a pretty good idea of how crazy it gets. Even just the food for that many people is ridiculous.”

When Madison tells people about her family, some think she said the wrong number and they do a double take, she said.

“I’ve gotten anything from people firmly believing that I was lying to their face to, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s ridiculous. How is that even possible?'” Madison said.

When Briana Green, senior, heard about it for the first time she thought, “It was pretty crazy because I only have one sibling and I know that at times it’s hard to deal with them, so I can only imagine what it would be like to have 11 of them.”

Madison feels the positive and negative of having a big family is the the same, you are never alone.

“You can go to a bunch of siblings to get advice or help you,” said Madison, “but at times it can be like, ‘I just need to write my paper or I just need to go to sleep.'”

Although having a big family can get crazy at times, it is still great and “always a blast,” Madison said.

“A lot of other people think it’s weird to have so many siblings,” Madison said, “but to me that’s just who I am and who my family is.”