LOWELL, Mich. — One West Michigan family had quite the graduation ceremony at Lowell High School, when four siblings graduated together.
The Sandman quadruplets— Annika, Katrina, Keira and Rhys— all walked across the stage on May 25.
No matter how you put it, graduation is an exciting time, but for the Sandman quadruplets' mom, it was emotional experience times four.
Now, the Sandman family farm is about to get much quieter.
“It’s good. I like being done with everything," Katrina said.
"I'm excited," Annika added.
"It's a breath of fresh air," Rhys told FOX 17.
“It was kind of nice because I wasn’t, like, alone," Keira said.
Mom, Melissa Sandman, says by the time the third "Sandman" name was called, the crowd at graduation started to chuckle.
“It was a little bit sad. It’s been a lot of fun. The kids are amazing. We’re very blessed because they’re all healthy and normal and they get along well,” Melissa said.
All four graduates have a 4.0 GPA or higher, and they're quite competitive with each other— always pushing one another to be the best they can be.
“It was a little bit crazy, the four of us when we were little. We were all over the place. A lot of fond memories, with all of them,” Katrina said.
“Most people, I feel like don’t even notice, since we don’t all necessarily look the same. Most people don’t even notice 'til we tell them,” Annika said.
While all four are undecided in their college major, they all decided on the same college: Grand Valley State University.
“It wasn’t, like, a group thing. Little by little, we hopped on board,” Rhys said.
“It’s not like we’re all going to be far away from each other, we’ll be within walking distance, which is nice,” Keira said.
Annika and Katrina will both carry on with the group's mutual love of running, joining the GVSU track team.
For mom, Melissa, it's a big change around the dinner table. Although she still has two kids left at home— these four will be missed.
“They’re always hanging out in the kitchen, talking, messing around, so it’s going to be pretty quiet,” Melissa said. “Grocery bills are going to be a lot smaller. Costco loves me. I love Costco."
