CAVALIER - Long gone are the days of endless diapers and milk bottles, and nights of interrupted sleep. In their place are new sets of challenges in raising quadruplets.

"It's just different," said Cathy Helgoe, mother of North Dakota's first in-vitro set of quads. "They grew up, and they get into different things."

The children are now 9 years old and in third grade at the Cavalier School.

Leighanna, whose name is a combination of her father's middle name and her great-grandmother's first name, wants to be a librarian. She likes gym class and the Disney Channel.

"Usually when I come home, I'm addicted to TV," she said.

Mackenzie, whose name was taken from a book her mother likes, is the only child with blue eyes.

Shelby was named after a nurse who took care of the children when they were born in 1994. She want to be a nurse.

Casey, the only boy, likes playing basketball and hockey. He enjoys deer hunting and doing farm chores with his father, Floyd.

The four often participate in similar activities, and their closeness in age makes them competitive.

"It's not easy," Cathy Helgoe said. "But they've learned to share and get along."

The Helgoes separated the four children in two classes at Cavalier School. Cathy works at the school as a vision aide.

"I know when they are in trouble," she said.

She rushes to run errands while the children are in an after-school program.

"It's full," she said of her life. "Lots of fun, lots of hard times."

When the Helgoes look far into the future, they see teenagers who are learning to drive, going to proms and eventually, college.

They started saving for the children from their birth. Every bit of gift money they get goes into a savings account, Cathy said.

The near future looks busy.

"We'll be going four different directions in two Suburbans," Cathy said.