The septuplets, whose arrival in 1997 caught the world’s attention, are now old enough to formally celebrate their birthday with champagne.

The McCaughey siblings celebrated turning 21 in a number of locations on Monday, prior to a family reunion on Wednesday to mark a new milestone in a journey that began when they became the first septuplets to survive.

Kelsey McCaughey, the fourth-oldest sibling, said, “I believe that we’re all becoming tremendously independent and finding our separate abilities and various skill sets. It’s nice to celebrate this great accomplishment.

When Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey’s seven children were delivered nine weeks early at a hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, they made history as the first set of surviving septuplets.

Children are now forging their own paths as they reached adulthood.

Since they were very little, they have had a wide range of hobbies.  They still have a close relationship, but they also like spending time with their friends, trying out new activities, and joining new classes.

Instead of a crazy party with a huge bar tab for their birthday, they’ll just take a nice trip home for a low-key celebration.

Bobbi humorously said, “It wouldn’t be happening, even though it would be legal.”

All of the children were given scholarships when they were born to attend Hannibal-LaGrange University in Missouri, where Kelsey, Natalie, Nathan, Joel, and Alexis are presently enrolled,

Joel is studying computer information systems, Kelsey is majoring in public relations, Natalie is majoring in exercise science, and Alexis is majoring in early childhood education.

It was “definitely a culture shock” moving away for college, according to Kelsey. “Since we spent all 18 years of our upbringing in Iowa, we had no real exposure to anything else.

It was difficult to adjust to being away from our parents and outside of Iowa, but I think we all welcomed it and really made new friends and met new people in a new environment.

Kenny Jr. lives in the family’s Iowa home while attending a construction trades vocational school. Brandon is now serving abroad in the U.S. Army.

Undoubtedly, the family home is much more quieter now than it once was.

We don’t have to deal with issues like we used to, Kenny Sr. continued. Now we can spend more time together.

Bobbi stated there had been substantial changes. Kenny and I have had more opportunities to do things together, which has been great in some ways, but I also miss the routine of having everyone at home.

When they come back home, it’s something we excitedly wait since it’s so much fun.

The family’s media concern has progressively decreased over time.

“I’d say Kenny and I still get recognized quite often because of our similar appearance, but nobody ever recognizes the kids,” Bobbi commented.

In addition, Kenny Sr. and Bobbi have decided to sell their seven-bedroom Carlisle home to Ruth Harbor, a Christian group that helps pregnant women. The McCaugheys downsized and moved into a three-bedroom home in neighboring Runnells.

Kelsey said, “I think it’s such a tremendous opportunity for our family”.  My mother replied, “I think the Lord really, truly placed that in my parents’ lives and just really, truly arranged everything so wonderfully.”

Their oldest daughter, Mikayla, who is 22 and resides in Kansas City, has a 1-year-old child named Becham. Three years ago, Mikayla became the first of the kids to be married, and Bobbi and Kenny Sr. are now Becham’s grandparents.

The affection for them is the same, but the responsibility is very different, said Bobbi as a grandma. It’s wonderful to be able to visit, experience the milestones, and get to do all the fun things with Becham.

Kelsey said, “It was really good to see my sister getting forward in life and creating a family on her own.

Other symptoms of adulthood are also being experienced by the septuplets, such as Natalie and Brandon becoming engaged.

Although Natalie has scheduled her wedding with Shawn Geralds in May 2019, Brandon plans to marry his fiancée Alana Hale when he returns from his deployment.

Despite everything that’s happening, the family is looking forward to coming back together this week to celebrate Thanksgiving and to blow out candles on a large birthday cake on Wednesday.

Natalie claimed to be her sister’s best friend in an interview.  I’m confident that we all value our connections and relationships very highly.