VIDALIA — Eighteen-year-old Chris Vest has a lot on his plate as a teenager in helping raising three younger children.

When The Dart landed on Willow Street, Vest was enjoying the day with twins Breanna and Landon, 3, and Emma, who just turned 1 on July 27.

Emma is a blood relative to Vest, while Breanna and Landon are foster children. Vest, however, said his parents, Carrie and Frank, plan to complete the adoption process Friday.

The twins have lived with the Vests since they were 5 months old, and the 2015 Vidalia High graduate said he could not have been more excited when he heard the news nearly three years ago.

“I had been pushing it for years,” Vest said of trying to convince his parents to adopt. “My parents stopped talking about it when I was 10 or 11, then all of a sudden they said they went to foster-care training.”

But Vest said he never signed up for two.

“That was a surprise,” he said, laughing. “When they first came, it was weird, but I can’t even really remember life without them now. They’re family.”

Approximately two-and-a-half years later, Vest was hit with another surprise when his mother informed him she was pregnant and another child was on the way.

Vest said he helps out in raising the children in any way possible. Either through rides in his truck or playing outside, Vest said he’s always willing to help out.

“Whatever they want to do is what we do,” Vest said. “(Landon’s) beaten me up a couple of times.”

Yet one area exists in which Vest puts his foot down and opts not to help.

“I know how to take care of kids now, but I haven’t changed a diaper,” he said. “I still won’t do it.”

As if his big brother duties don’t keep him busy enough, he will soon add even more responsibility in the coming months.

Vest has enlisted in the Air Force, where he plans to serve as an aviation mechanic.

Vest said he chose the Air Force because they represent the best opportunities for him moving forward.

“I started talking to the Marines, and they started talking to me about school,” Chris Vest said. “My parents are going to have a hard time with (three kids), so it would give them a chance to not have to pay for school.”

Vest, whose grandfather served in Vietnam, has transformed his body in preparation for his military duty. He has trimmed his weight down from 230 pounds in his junior year to his present weight of approximately 178 pounds.

“I always wanted to go into the military, then it stopped, then I got back to wanting to go,” Vest said.

While Vest is currently doing everything he can to be the best big brother he can be, he admits he has one eye set on what potentially is ahead in his military future.

“I think it’s my calling,” he said. “I’m excited for it.”