McCaughey septuplets celebrate 18th birthday

The McCaughey septuplets soon enter adulthood, turning 18 on Nov. 19, and Iowans wonder where the time has gone.

It seems not long ago that the Register announced their arrival with fanfare:

A shy, devoutly religious Carlisle woman accomplished a medical miracle Wednesday, giving birth to seven babies at a Des Moines hospital.

With that news-bulletin birth, and years of national attention that followed, the renown could have gone to their heads. Yet the septuplets seem like nice young Iowans.

Parents Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey have been protective, but entertained media requests every November to poke around their spacious 7-bedroom home in Carlisle with cameras, lights and personal questions. They do it with a reserved pluck, noting the stages of family life and emphasizing their normalcy.

Yet they are constantly reminded their lives are not normal.

"Kenny and I will be out shopping at the grocery store, and someone will come up us and say, 'Your kids are 17. I know that because in November of that year I was … ' It's always interesting to hear where they were that day," Bobbi said.

Brandon, Joel, Nathan, Kenny, Natalie, Alexis and Kelsey are the seven seniors at Carlisle High School, while older sister Mikayla is 19, married last summer, and lives in Altoona.

A big, empty nest looms in the future. Brandon will be off to the Army after high school, and the six others have college plans.

"It will be pretty drastic," Bobbi said. "Everyone gone all at once."

Dad Kenny, ever the realist, put the brakes on that discussion. Odds are, some birds will remain in the nest for a while, or fly back now and again for food.

"I still think we are a few years down the road before that happens," he said. "But the idea is to step out. And keep going."

New photos: The McCaugheys turn 18:

It's a sunny Sunday afternoon. Football is on the big flat screen. The kids come and go, grazing on cookies and popcorn at a kitchen bar that is nearly the size of a shuffleboard court, or they look at their smart phones.

"They all buy their own phones," Kenny insists. "If they want something, they get a job to buy it."

They have all held jobs — at grocery stores or daycares or in construction.

A typical day unfolds. Nathan is on a hunt for his phone. He has misplaced it. "Did you have it after church?" "When was the last time you had it?"

Kelsey tries to drown out the incessant hum of the crowd coming from the football game on TV, occasionally breaking into a short riff of a song. She absolutely loves to sing and wants to go to college for music. Kenny Jr. breaks into a set on his drum set for a while, and Joel is in his room, claiming it is his favorite place — in front of a computer, plotting his future in computer sciences.

The bread maker slightly squeaks while mixing, which bugs dad; he doesn't like things that squeak. Two dogs dance through and between legs. Mom stirs a noodle casserole in the slow cooker and dusts the counter with flour to bake.

One of the boys walks through and burps.

"Excuse you," Dad says.

In other words, it all seems fairly normal, until you get into the nuts and bolts of the last 18 years.

"Not many grandfathers announce the birth of their grandchild with a national press conference," Kenny says, holding the section of the Des Moines Register from Nov. 19, 1997, with the "Extra" label. On the front page is a picture of Bobbi's dad, Robert Hepworth, who died more than a decade ago now.

Bobbi and Kenny both grew up in these parts. Their kids had some of the same teachers the couple had in school. They were typecast as shy, religious folks when their story unfolded of seeking fertility treatment and doctors discovering that seven babies would make history. Bobbi was 29 at the time.

From the archives:The McCaugheys turn 16

Appearing a bit shell-shocked, but grateful, they accepted trips to the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" when they turned 1, "The Today Show" at 2 and Disney World at 3. They all remember the trip at age 9 to Mallorca island off the coast of Spain, after a hand-delivered invitation from government officials and a personal meeting with Spain's president.

They know the trip was intended to spark Spanish tourism, just as they knew a free van and diapers, and the free apple juice they received to age 16, had a commercial purpose.

Kenny used the initial fame to give speeches with a spiritual message, but he eventually returned to his longtime job for a metal coating company in Des Moines. Bobbi works as a para-educator for special-needs children.

The land and this pleasant and mammoth 4,833-square-foot home were donated. The trips were free, the latest earlier this fall to New York City to again appear on "The Today Show." It's not how adulthood will unfold. Kenny views teaching his children that as his principal challenge as a father.

"My fear has always been that they see our jobs and think that's all they need for nice stuff," he said. "I've given them the cold, hard truth slowly. No way could I afford this home on my salary. If you want something, you have to work for it."

They have worked, and even saved money for college, he said. But the world keeps providing — still. At birth, the seven were all offered a free college education at Hannibal-LaGrange University in Missouri. It's likely that five of the seven will take the college up on it, while Kenny Jr. is headed for Des Moines Area Community College to study in the building trades, and Brandon sticks to the goal he announced to reporters at age 3 — serving his country in the Army.

Normal family? Not in many respects.

Related:McCaughey septuplets mom: 'So many things have happened'

The McCaugheys through the years:

Their emotions are normal, though, as graduation looms now only a few months away.

"Everything is the last," Bobbi said, leaning over the kitchen bar. "The last marching band performance. The last cross country meet. The last choir concert. It's sad to see things end, but there will be a lot of firsts coming. You have to get to the lasts to get to the firsts.

"You always think, 'What could I have done differently?' But I think they are all ready for the next step. They all turned out pretty well."

The teen years have been Bobbi's favorite. She can talk to them as adults. They have heard their father's speech enough — "remember who you represent" — and know that any McCaughey misdeed will spread like wildfire.

"It's like an invasion of privacy," said Brandon of all the cameras around their home through the years. "If something bad happens, it's on the news. But our parents raised us good."

Natalie said, "I love them so much for how they raised us to have such a strong faith."

Now the conversations center on their futures.

"This stage," said Bobbi, "is really the most impactful of their lives."

They have watched Nathan and Alexis, born with cerebral palsy, courageously battle through limitations. Nathan said he worked hard day after day, to teach himself to walk on his own. It took years, graduating from a walker. Alexis still uses a walker, but it hasn't stopped her. She was the school cheerleading squad's co-captain.

The family is full of musicians. At one time, all were in the band, and most have had a stint in the choir. They have been soccer players, wrestlers and runners on Carlisle sports teams.

But the McCaughey septuplets all say they largely were just another of the hometown kids, the familiarity of their lifelong presence overtaking their fame. They will get their senior photographs and start thinking about prom, just like their classmates.

But at college, Natalie said, she isn't going to mention that she is a septuplet. "It's sort of like going to be a new, fresh start."

Facing new challenges will be hard, Alexis said, as her parents consider accessible options given her disability. "But I know I can get through it."

Kenny Jr. supplied the standard small-town Iowa statement: "When I graduate, I'm outta here!"

Of course they bickered. Yet all seven say that their siblings are their best friends, and the parting will be difficult. They always had someone there who really knew them, someone to lean on.

When Alexis was asked by a boy to go to the homecoming dance last fall, her sister Kelsey happened to be at her side. Alexis turned away from the boy and looked to her sister for support because her sister knew that she had already been asked. "You have to tell him," Kelsey whispered.

They will dearly miss each other.

"I feel like I am starting my life," Kelsey said. "But they are my best friends. When you need someone to talk to, they are there to help you."

Kenny Jr. was always seen as the leader. He was born first that day 18 years ago, and he can talk a blue streak about what he's going to do with his independent and free new life (start his own business).

"What I'm not going to like is we won't be around each other. I'm just going to miss everybody, especially Brandon because he goes into the military soon," he said. "I couldn't be where I am today without them."

After first sharing the womb and then every stage of life together, the next chapter is here — and it will mean growing apart.

"It is surreal," said mom Bobbi, holding the newspaper from the day of her children's birth. "It doesn't seem like it is them.

"Sometimes those memories seem like so long ago. In other ways, it seems like yesterday."

Related:Happy 17th birthday, McCaughey septuplets

MCCAUGHEY SEPTUPLETS

KELSEY

KELSEY: Music is her thing. She's in the high school choir and loves singing. She wants to study music in college. She said the best thing about being a septuplet is that they are all very opinionated, and that means they can help each other out. The worst thing? Some of their opinions.

BRANDON

BRANDON: He works part-time at Hy-Vee and was a cross country runner in high school, which kept him in shape for a future he has had planned since he was a small boy. "I'm going into the Army. I'm already sworn in. All I have to do is stay in shape, not do anything bad, then go into basic. I knew that I was always inspired by my uncle Jason when he was in Afghanistan a long time ago."

KENNY

KENNY: He ran on the cross country team, plays drums in the band and is getting ready for the wrestling season. In summers, he has worked in construction with his uncle, a profession he hopes to study at Des Moines Area Community College. "What I'm not going to get used to is we are all going our separate ways. We are all used to being around each other. I'm like the big brother because I was born first."

JOEL

JOEL: He hopes to go into computer science in college. He's always been known as the quiet, dependable one, and he likes to spend time in his room working with technology when he's not singing in the choir or working at Hy-Vee. "We're just like any other family; it really is no different. It's just there are a lot of people. I'm just glad to have them there, someone to be with you."

NATHAN

NATHAN: He is in the band and choir in high school and worked hard to teach himself to walk after being born with a form of cerebral palsy. "I walk every day. It's sort of like practicing on a daily basis. I didn't know how to walk, so I taught myself how to walk because I really wanted to learn. I've just been practicing every day, and it's just been getting better and better."

ALEXIS

ALEXIS: She is in band and choir, was the cheerleading squad co-captain and was recently named to the National Honor Society. She has cerebral palsy. She plans on going to college, perhaps first to a community college before a four-year university. "I think my future is going to be pretty tough, but I think if I believe in myself I can do it. I can get through it."

NATALIE

NATALIE: She is a hard-working student who loves school, participates in the choir and band, and was this year's drum major. She wants to be an elementary teacher because she loves kids. She has worked at a daycare and as a counselor at a Christian camp for kids. "I got to share my love for Jesus and my love for kids all at the same time. Even when I was little, my parents and brother would call me the second mom because I was always willing to help, especially with Lexi and Nathan, because when they were little, they had trouble walking. Having seven siblings and six twins, it's like having best friends that you can all hang out with and talk with all the time. These last couple years, we've all grown so much closer."