BRAINY BUNCH: Quadruplets headed separate ways after graduation

In a flurry of last-minute activity, the four teenagers grab their snacks, step into their choir outfits, shout their goodbyes and head out the door for their concert.

As the household settles into quiet, Martha and Walt Baker slip into a pensive moment.

Such rare, cherished moments of calm amid the usual whirlwind of family activities will soon become commonplace, as their home turns into a vast, empty nest in a way few families experience.

When your children "come in a bunch," as Martha says, they leave in a bunch.

The Baker quadruplets - Justina, Laura, Nathaniel and Walker - were born within two minutes of one another on Feb. 2, 1991, giving the Bakers an instant large family.

On Friday, they'll graduate from Air Academy High School, and come fall, the four teens will leave for three college campuses within a month.

"It's going to be different in that it's going to be a lot of quiet," Walt says.

"Most people stair-step into the empty nest," Martha adds. "For us, it'll happen all at once."

"It'll be OK, don't you think?" asks Walt, a software engineer with Lockheed Martin. "Maybe we can go out to dinner, just the two of us. I can catch up on things around the house I haven't had time for. We can rediscover things that we want to learn."

The major life shift, though, isn't just about Mom and Dad. It's about the separation of four siblings who grew up as a ready-made play group, car pool and study group.

Not that they're clones. They share similar interests but often have headed down different paths. For example, Martha started them all on the piano, but each chose other instruments to play as well.

And distinct personalities quickly emerge as they talk about their lives and aspirations. Quiet, thoughtful Justina. Compassionate, easygoing Walker. Assertive, take-charge Laura. Independent, strong-willed Nathaniel.

Still, they've spent 18 years reaching milestones together, running errands together, waiting outside one another's music lessons or club events, attending one another's recitals and, for the past two years, sharing one car.

"We spend about an hour a week, usually on Sunday, planning out who's using the car when and coordinating our schedules," Nathaniel says.

They drive to school together and often have class with one or more siblings, or perhaps the same teacher at different times.

"It's helpful when you need to check notes or you think you missed something," Laura says.

"It's impossible to skip class," Walker adds dryly.

But, he says of being a quad: "You always have someone there for you. You always have a friend."

In kindergarten and early elementary grades, the four were in the same classroom. That changed in fourth grade, when they were split two and two. From then on, it was different combinations of classes and schedules, but the four were always in the same grade at the same school. That included three years at Rockrimmon Elementary School, where their mother taught and is now the coordinator for the International Baccalaureate program.

Justina, who will start college about two weeks after Nathaniel and Laura and nearly a month after Walker, ponders whether she's ever been home alone with her mom and dad for more than a day or two. She shakes her head and smiles: "It'll be interesting."

Walker, too, will have a week at home alone with Martha and Walt - because he's the only one of the four who will have a spring break.
Martha says she and Walt have had the house to themselves for - at most - a week, when the kids were gone on summer activities.

Despite how others may view them, the quads say they're not that different from other large families.

"We're just another American family," Nathaniel says. "We were blessed to all come at once. Having siblings the same age means they get what you're going through, when you're going through it."

Laura says that, initially, people often view them as "one of the Baker quads," rather than as individuals. But, she says, they've all found ways to express their individuality and find time for themselves. And, like other high school seniors, they're looking forward to going out into the world and "finding out who you are, and love it and enjoy life," she says.

But they know that going their separate ways during their college years will be different.

"We'll be establishing our own lives," Justina says. "What that will be like won't hit until we get there."

Ditto, says Martha as she looks over dozens of senior pictures displayed on the hearth and mantel that took two Saturdays to produce.

"We went from two to six, and now we're going back to two again," Martha says. "I spent some time worrying about how I'd handle it, and then decided there's no point in that. I've just got to live it."

As she looks at their senior photos, she points to her favorite. It shows her four children, backs to the camera, walking away down a path into a green canopy of foliage.

"They're ready for it. It's time."

FOUR LIVES

The Baker quadruplets will graduate Friday from Air Academy High School and head off to college this fall.

JUSTINA BAKER
COLLEGE: Brigham Young University-Idaho to study exercise physiology. Classes begin Sept. 10.
ACTIVITIES: School choir; piano; French horn; student director of school musical "Swing"; Young Womanhood Recognition Award of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

LAURA BAKER
COLLEGE: Brigham Young University, Provo Utah. Classes begin Aug. 26.
ACTIVITIES: School choir; piano; flute; dance team; dance director for school musical "Swing"; horseback riding; Young Womanhood Recognition Award of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

NATHANIEL BAKER
COLLEGE: Brigham Young University, Provo, to study pre-law. Classes begin Aug. 26.
ACTIVITIES: School choir; piano; bass guitar; debate team; Thespian board; dancer in the school musical "Swing"; rock climbing; camping; church activities; Eagle Scout.

WALKER BAKER
COLLEGE: Utah State University. Classes begin Aug. 12.
ACTIVITIES: School choir; piano; acoustic guitar; outdoor activities; church activities; Eagle Scout.

RAISING QUADS

• Each required two sets of braces that took nine years to pay off.
• Senior pictures required two Saturdays to shoot and more than 1,000 proofs.
• Teacher conferences some years included meeting as many as 28 high school teachers.
• College visit time meant touring seven schools in two states in 10 days in a Jeep.
• Raising four teens the same age is a challenge: "Sometimes they're about like 2-year-olds that can argue a lot better," Martha Baker said. For Walt: "It's like herding cats. Sometimes you can get them in and sometimes you can't."
• Multiples learn patience early because they're always waiting for their turn.
• Organizational skills and one big family calendar are essential.