Permanent Party taken from Young Chick magazine. *
"Where's my brush?" yells 9-year-old Vida. "I used it last night," calls back 11-year-old Zela. "No, that was mine that you used," Mikayla, a rambunctious 12-year-old screams. "Has anyone seen my magazine?" For the Clorensons, it's a typical morning. For anyone else, it's chaos. For anyone else, a 18 person family isn't typical, but at the Clorensons' household, almost anything is possible. Dena, the mother of the 16 girls, aged 2 to 17, recalls growing up with only a sister, Sarah. "I hated it," she said. "I'd look at my friends and think, she's so lucky to have such a large family! My one friend, Margaret, had six brothers and sisters, and she was the third youngest. I'd always think, I wish I had an older sister." So you could say that Dena is living through her children. At the Clorensons' house, there is never a dull moment. If the younger children aren't screaming at each other, the older ones are arguing about who borrowed what when. "It's so exciting," Dena exclaims. "I wouldn't trade it for anything!" What about when the children are misbehaving? "Well, generally, the kids are pretty good. We come from a very loving family. We've always taught the kids that their sisters are their best friends. Of course, the kids will have their occasional quarrels, but in general, they're very respectful of each other." What do the kids think? "It sounds cheesy," admits 16-year-old Dalia, "but my sister Duscha is my best friend. We tell each other everything." Second opinion? "See, my sister, Dayton," says 4-year-old Allegra. "She sometimes takes my stuff but some other times she's a good friend." The Chancey, California, family is also known around town for their triplet daughters, Jena, Christa, and Carrie. Their thoughts? "Having two triplet sisters is enough in itself, without having 13 other sisters," Christa says. "But it's great! Anytime I need advice or a great outfit, I have 6 older sisters to go to!"
