Dalton Caudill, 5, plays outside his home in Dry Fork Hollow, Ky., he is the youngest of three generations of his family which share the two-bedroom home.

Because the house is often cramped with all eight family members, Dalton enjoys spending time alone. “For how rowdy they seem to get, he’s a pretty quiet kid,� Dalton’s grandmother, Patricia Ison, said.

While watching television, Dalton’s sisters Tiffany Caudill, 7, and Heather Caudill, 11, crowd around their mother’s boyfriend, Ed Paige, and the family computer. “He’s not as interested in the computer, but you can’t pull him away from SpongeBob,� Ison said.

Squirming and giggling, Dalton wrestles away from his uncle Mark Ison’s hug. The Caudill family playfully wrestle and tease each other, filling the home with children’s laughter.

Dalton loudly slurps as he finishes his dinner. “They (Caudill children) love it when I fix soup beans, can’t get enough,� Ison said.

While searching through a storage closet, Dalton and his brother Clay, 9, pick up and handle a couple of shotguns.

"I'm not scared. I'm not scared of anything," Dalton said after his grandmother warned him about snakes seen near his home.

Dalton puts his head down while his kindergarten class is quizzed on a story that was just read. Dalton struggles to pay attention in school, but tutors that work with him in after-school programs have had more success in one-on-one situations.