Kids by the Dozen

Paul Arndt:
Why didn't you strike more people out?

Jude Arndt:
I tried.

Paul Arndt:
You know, when people ask me what it's like to be in a big family, or they ask, "Well, isn't it too crazy or don't you wish sometimes you were an only child or only had one or two brothers?" I'll say, "No, you know, because it's fun. It's like - you know, it's like being, you know, in a college dorm or something like that." You have - it's always a party atmosphere. You always are with your closest friends.

Rick Arndt:
It may seem strange, but I don't think of us as having a large family, in the sense of each one is an individual. Each one was such an individual package, that I don't think of it as a big mob; I think of it as 14 only children. Yeah, I'm still considering it a small, intimate group, because you know each one so individually.

Rick Arndt:
I got caught up in a game of Candyland somewhere between my office and the first floor.

Rick Arndt:
We had come from the ultrasound, and she had given us the verdict in a sealed envelope.

Cathy Arndt:
He was teasing me that he was going to find out, but he really - I don't really think you were trying to peek.

Rick Arndt:
Which - I was holding the envelope.

Cathy Arndt:
Yes, he was just teasing and tormenting me. And the sun was kind of like this light here.

Rick Arndt:
The sunlight came through, and then I saw a "G." And I knew there was no "G" in "boy."

Cathy Arndt:
Yes. And so he saw it and it said "girl," and he started shaking.

Mark Arndt:
I used to joke that, you know, on the day she goes on her first date, there are going to be 10 cars following her.

Rick Arndt:
If I might say so, she has a tremendous fastball. If you've ever batted against her, she has great velocity.

Cathy Arndt:
That's very important.

Rick Arndt:
And this year, I've started to notice her bat speed is picking up, too, so...

Cathy Arndt:
Oh, I'm so relieved.

Rick Arndt:
I mean - I don't know.

Cathy Arndt:
You've got 13 boys. This one's mine, all right?

Mark Arndt:
Mom is the heartbeat of the home. Without her, there'd be nothing.

Mark Arndt:
Mom's kind of like the small claims court, and then Dad's like the supreme court. So Mom handles the smaller cases, and then if you really do something bad, you go to Dad.

Margie Ellisor:
But get this, the other team, made up of just one family, Rick and Cathy Arndt, are the proud parents of David, Paul, Peter, Caleb, Mary-Elizabeth, Nathan, Luke, Seth, Jacob, Mark, John, Philip, Jude, and James.

John Pertzborn:
Take a breath.

Margie Ellisor:
And Mr. Rick Arndt joining us live from Laderman Park to tell us more about Saturday's softball game. Good morning, Rick!

Rick Arndt:
Hey, good morning, Margie. And did you do that from memory? That's fantastic.

Margie Ellisor:
I was wondering how I did on the names.

Rick Arndt:
That is fantastic. I can't even do that.

Mark Arndt:
It's been giving be gray hairs, which, you know, is an improvement for me.

Cathy Arndt:
Having a big family doesn't necessarily mean that you've given up your life. I don't know that anyone's having a more fun life than I am.