Our Journey

Our journey actually began long before January 7^th,  2012.  It truly started when I got pregnant back in 2007.  I got pregnant knowing that I would want to be a stay-at-home mom eventually. But since my biological clock was ticking (quite loudly) I agreed to work for two more years after our baby was born so Josh could finish his teaching degree.  Much to our surprise our one baby had split into two babies & I had twice the desire to stay home.  

Two years stretched into three as Josh graduated & searched for a job to no avail.  During this third year working away from my boys each day, we were blessed with a surprise pregnancy.  “Blessed” is not how I felt about it at first, but I have since come to see God’s plan in giving us our third & final son.  The weight of the pregnancy & my heavy heart forced us to make some decisions that were scary in the moment, but still felt right.  Little did I know the choices we would eventually be making!

In February I quit my job as a staff assistant to become a stay-at-home mom.  In April I was seven months pregnant when Josh and I left the twins with my mom to travel North to Seattle to attend an Alaska Job Fair.  School districts from all across the 49^th state were there, looking to hire an array of teachers.  Josh interviewed for two districts & left feeling disappointed he hadn’t been hired on the spot.  I prayed a lot for God to guide us in our decision making.  By the end of April he had been offered a position in Marshall, Alaska.  Marshall is one of eleven villages along the Yukon River that together make up the Lower Yukon School District.  With a population of less than 400 people and no roads in or out, the village life is one that was foreign & quite scary to me.  But the more I prayed the more I knew this was the decision we had to make for our family.

Josh accepted the position teaching a 5/6 split & in August he left our eight week old infant, three year old twins & myself to begin a teaching career in rural Alaska.

While we waited for teacher housing to be complete, I got to see Josh twice.  Once I flew to him in Anchorage with the help of family, and once he flew back home to Vancouver to surprise me, also with the help of family.  Then at Christmas he came to retrieve us & bring us back to Marshall with him.

That time without Josh, those five treacherous months, were agonizing. It was worst in the beginning as I am sad to say I got used to doing it all alone.  I have never cried so much in my life.

Between caring for a new baby & twin pre-schoolers and packing up our every belonging for the move, I was drowning.

 Moving in with Josh’s parents just prior to Thanksgiving was such a blessed relief.  To live with people who could help me with the children & my to-do list was like a breath of fresh air.  My time there was short lived as before I knew it Josh showed up.  The two weeks he was home flew by as well, and before I knew it, it was the day before our departure.

Saying goodbye to my family was, honestly, easier than I had ever imagined. I think it’s normal to be without your parents or siblings as an adult. What's odd is being without your significant other. Living without Josh was far more upsetting than the idea of leaving my family of origin.  When I did tear up it was more for the sake of the boys & my family missing out on their stages of development. I mean, Jack & Logan will turn four when we get home, and the baby will turn one a week later. Wyatt will have gone from a rolly, polly hambone to a toddling, chatty little boy.  It will happen so quickly.

So while I did tear up as we drove away from my mom’s house that night, I was mostly feeling quite ready for our adventure to begin.

Saturday morning we woke up very early, thanks to an eager Jack & Logan, and began to get ready. I packed up all the last minute things while Josh showered & Grandma Carol fed the boys.  Finally around 7am everything was ready & I ate breakfast.  We had five pieces of luggage, two large carry-on’s and one back pack per person, plus three car seats & a baby carrier.

We had quite the entourage at the airport.   Josh’s parents, two youngest siblings & older sister & nephew were all there to see us off.  There were tears shed, but mostly I felt that everyone was so happy for us to be reunited & setting off to start a life together, as it should be.  
As we walked away from them, the baby babbling in my carrier, and each of the twins toting a carry-on bag behind them, garnering adoring looks from everyone, I felt so proud of us.  And so excited for our journey to begin.

Last hugs from Grandma & Papa

Our first flight was to be a quick one. Alaska Airlines Portland to Seattle. Simple, right? Oh no. Of course not!  Just after departing from our family, we entered the security line, where we removed belts, wallets & watches, loaded the conveyor belt with all our carry-ons and sent the boys, one by one, through the metal detector.  Because I was wearing Wyatt in my Ergo, I had to submit to a test of my fingertips.  They swiped them with a cloth & put the cloth on their machine to be test. No joke, it came back positive for explosives. What?!?  That morning I had eaten a chocolate muffin & packed up our bathroom belongings. At no point had I handled explosives…

Ten minutes and a TSA pat down in a private room later, we were good to go.  
What a headache.

We made it to our flight just as they were starting to board.  The five of us marched through the ticket counter & out onto the tarmac to get on the plane which had 30 rows of 2 on each side.  It was a good quick flight, and much to my surprise the boys were not afraid during take-off or landing. Josh & I both offered to hold their hands or get them their bubbas, but both boys declined.  

Our second flight of the morning was also an Alaska flight. We trudged along with whiny boys from our arrival gate to our departure gate, where I was able to reorganize the boys’ backpacks & treats before boarding the three & a half hour flight from Seattle to Anchorage.  

It was during this reorganizing, with Wyatt asleep on top of my sweater in an airport chair & Logan and Jack driving cars under strangers’ seats that I thought, “I can’t imagine if we had more kids.”  We were moving constantly to keep up with them & their needs.  

Thankfully, all three kids slept for an hour & a half on that flight. And we were blessed with good seat neighbors.  Josh & Jack sat next to a man who told Jack if he wanted to look out the window they could trade seats for a while, and Logan & I sat by Cheryl who lived for many years, she said, in Bethel, and had been to Marshall numerous times.

 

She & Logan had many conversations & she was so sweet & patient, answering all his questions & asking about him.  I felt very lucky that our long flight was so smooth & we didn’t have grouchy kids or neighbors.

View from the air as we descended in to Anchorage

When we made it to Anchorage I think we breathed a big sigh of relief.  We had at least made it into Alaska. Half our trip was over.  We made it easily to baggage claim, where we piled our kids & belongings in a corner so Josh could leave us to retrieve the rental car.  About twenty minutes later he made it back, empty handed.  “They want you,” he told me.  Because the credit card we were using was only in my name, they wouldn’t let him sign for it.  So, in my Columbia fleece, I headed out into the 16 degree snowy weather & found my way to the car rental terminal.  I signed the papers I was supposed to sign, grabbed the keys and headed out to the parking garage to find our Toyota Sienna.  It was a beautiful van, but so different to drive than the Pilot. Not to mention there was at least six inches of fresh snow on the ground and it was continuing to come down.  As I pulled out of the parking garage I said a prayer that I would not wreck this rental car.  As I drove, I looked to my right and realized that somehow I had missed the correct turn and was leaving the area where I had left Josh & the boys.

I cannot describe to you the panic I felt as I drove, against my will, further & further away from where I needed to be, in a city I didn’t know, in a car I had never driven, in snow, the likes of which I had never seen, let alone had to traverse.  “Oh,  God. Oh, God. Oh, God,” became my plea.  Soon there were signs leading to different parts of Anchorage & I could feel the airport getting further & further behind me.  I thought of things I could do: stop & ask someone, call Josh, call Carrie (a friend of a friend who lives in Anchorage) but none of my ideas could work.  There was no one anywhere. Not a single person or car as far as I could see, and I left my cell phone in Vancouver because it won’t have service in the village.  So here I am, clueless & phoneless, driving on a wing & a prayer… when there it is, a tiny little sign: “Rental Car Return.”

“Oh, thank God!” I followed the signs back to where I started, and managed to get myself to Arrivals for Alaska Air, where my brood was waiting.  I hopped out & practically ran to Josh. So relieved I was to see his face.  He laughed when I told him the story, emphasizing that I was pretty sure I had a heart attack and was still recovering, and we started loading the car.

We drove first to get the boys some dinner- McDonalds.  And after that we found our hotel.  We call Josh’s GPS his girlfriend because when we were in Anchorage in October he would listen to her instead of me for directions, and she has a come hither voice.  Well, with his girlfriend's help we arrived at the Comfort Suites & were amazed at our room.  It had two huge TV’s, two queen size beds, a portable playpen for Wyatt, and a separate seating room where Josh & I could watch TV once the boys were in bed.  We were so happy to have such a lush place to stay after our long day.

We unloaded our things into our room, then we left to check some things off our to-do list.  The first order of business was to get a cell phone for me that would work up here in the village. GCI is the only phone company that works out here, so we walked to the GCI store in the Anchorage Mall (about eight blocks away) and got Josh the new Galaxy 2, and I got his old Galaxy phone.  Its touch screen & very fancy compared to my pay-as-you-go phone.  I feel quite spoiled, and Josh keeps thanking me for letting him have the new one.  I am not a gadget girl, so I was more than happy to let him get the phone he wanted.  I have unlimited phone & text, as well as some internet, with my plan, so I am happy. Josh’s phone is grandfathered in to the old plans, so he has unlimited everything!  The walk home from GCI was fun.  Jack kept begging Josh to play snowball fight with him. He’s just sure the snow is going to be gone before he has the chance to build a snow fort or throw a snowball.  Josh and I keep having to tell him that there will be plenty of time for snowball fights.  The boys will be learning more about snow in the months to come- that when you touch it, your hands get wet; that when you step in the deep snow, your socks get wet; and that when you are entering a car or building, you need to stomp to get the snow off your boots.  These are things we don’t even think about, but are now having to teach the kids.  Rain they know, but snow is a brand new experience.

After getting my cell phone (leave a comment below if you’d like me to get the number to you) we went to Wal-Mart to do our bush order.  I had a page chock full of items I wanted, so we each grabbed a cart, threw a twin in it, and got our shopping under way.  Once we had filled our two carts with non-perishables (shipping items that require being kept cold is far too expensive) we pushed our carts back to the Bush Order section (yes, that really exists) and filled out paperwork. Name, Address, Phone Number, & how we’d like to pay.  We opted to do Cash on Delivery (COD), so that when the boxes arrive at the post office, Josh will just write the post office a check & we will be good to go.

Some of the items we bought that were unusual include Shelf Milk, which can sit, unopened, on a shelf for an extended period of time until it is opened, after which you have to refrigerate it and powdered milk, as well as Maplene, which you can use to make your own maple syrup.  (Josh’s mom taught me that trick while I was living with her!)  We also got a lot of soup, noodles & rice to go with all the salmon & moose meat Josh has be fortunate enough to receive from co-workers & fellow villagers.  After our Wal-Mart bush order shopping, we called it a night. Drove home, through the snow, pajama’d the kids & put them to bed.

Then I went about reorganizing (again) or luggage to make room for dirty clothes & transfer our snow clothes & cloth diapers into the larger carry-ons.  Josh took this time to order us in a pizza.  Then we sat, in the tiny sitting room, watching lame cable TV, feeling so proud & exhausted, we could hardly get motivated to move into the next room where our bed awaited us.

We awoke Sunday morning very early to the boys (are you noticing the trend?) and put on cartoons in the sitting room so we could lounge about a little more.  Soon enough we were up, taking turns showering & playing cars with Logan & Jack.  Once we were ready we headed downstairs for the continental breakfast.  Josh made us all waffles, which were delicious, but the boys wouldn’t really eat, the baby was cranky & both Josh and I were feeling overwhelmed at the thought of a repeat day (three kids, two flights, lots of waiting time) on how little sleep we got.  Logan poured his apple juice all over himself during breakfast, and we ended up back in the room, changing him & before we knew it, it was time to start loading the car.  I checked us out of the hotel as Josh suited up & went outside to get the two or so inches of fresh snow off the car.

 Then it was off to Wal-Mart again, this time for two Rubbermaid totes full of groceries, as well as a cooler full of freezer items, to count as part of our “two per person” luggage with ERA Alaska.  This grocery shopping trip went much faster & ended with us spending about $380.00 on food to last us until the Bush Order shows up, who knows when.

Then we refilled the rental car with gas & headed to the airport.  There Josh dropped me off with five pieces of large luggage, four backpacks, two carry-ons, two Rubbermaid totes, one rolling cooler & three small children so I could label, zip tie & duct tape our grocery purchases while he dropped off the rental car.

I strapped Wyatt in his car seat on the floor of the airport and got to work while Logan & Jack entertained stranded travelers with their games of peek-a-boo & chase.  Just as Josh arrived back to help me, we started to lose it.  Jack was exhausted, and kept lying down on the floor, and Logan, who had been tired and pushed through the exhaustion had become insanely hyperactive.  And of course these polar opposites were attracted to each other, and could.not.stop.fighting.  So as we pushed our cart full of luggage toward the ERA desk, we had two very cranky children & two very exhausted parents.  Then the boy (he couldn’t have been fifteen years old) who was helping us informed us that the computer had us down as paper-ticket passengers, whatever the hell that means, and wanted to know if we had our paper tickets? No, we didn't have any paper tickets! We ordered online. ONLINE!  We were sent e-mail confirmation, that’s it. So he hopped on the phone, chatting with whoever it was on the other line, and we started to panic. Our flight was supposed to leave ANC at 2:05 and it was already 1:30. And we still had to check all that luggage.  Not to mention that him taking his sweet time meant more time for our two boys to continue irritating the living crap out of each other while Josh and I tried not to panic at the thought of being in Anchorage another day with all the kids & no place to stay or car to drive.

Finally he told us that the woman on the other end of the phone had fixed our problem, and we were good to start checking luggage.  The weight limit for luggage is 50 pounds with ERA. If you are over 50 pounds, you are charged a $60 fee.  So he started weighing luggage.  34lbs. 38.5lbs. 42lbs. 52lbs. 53.5lbs. He let those two go. Then we put the cooler on there. 60 pounds even. Damn it! So we ripped open my beautiful duct taping job & started shifting things from the cooler into one of the totes that had mostly toilet paper in it. At this point, we didn't even care if the cooler stuff was out of the cooler. It was freezing cold- nothing was going to spoil- we just needed to get to our terminal so we didn’t miss our flight.  So after we adjusted & got the weights under 50 pounds, we realized that Josh has put the duct tape & zip ties back into some of our checked luggage (that had already been placed on the carousel & whisked away to the mysterious world of bags behind the counter) instead of placing it in his backpack, which is where it had been originally.  So there we were, with our last three checked items, and nothing to seal them back shut with… Thankfully, Josh found a second roll of duct tape in his backpack, and the ERA agents had scissors & some packing tape.  We finally got those last three items checked, and were walking away when they called after us that our rolling carry-ons were too big & were going to need to be checked.  The girl working with our ERA agent asked me if I needed any of the items in the carry-ons and I told her all the baby’s cloth diapers were in one, and the other contained the boys & my winter gear for our small ERA flight.  As I was explaining this to her, Josh and I were both inching further from the desk toward the terminal until she shrugged her shoulders and we booked it. 

We made it to the ERA counter in the terminal just in time to find out our plane hadn’t even landed yet, so we got out the lunches we had purchased for ourselves & the kids at Wal-Mart, and took the opportunity to eat.  While it was nice to get to breathe for a minute, we were growing worried.  If this flight was late, we could very easily miss our connecting flight to Marshall & be stuck in Bethel. At this point I had never been to Bethel, but I had heard horror stories about being stuck in Bethel, and all I can say is that it sounds akin to being stranded at the bottom of Niagara Falls with only an umbrella.  Taxi fees are through the roof, and there are no hotels, only “Bed & Breakfasts”, which cost an arm & a leg, and do not necessarily deliver in terms of living up their luxurious sounding name.

Our Dash 8

So when all of a sudden they were boarding our flight, we threw our bags on & flew to the line, hoping to find four seats together, but knowing our chances were not that good.  As we boarded the Dash 8, which seats roughly 28 people, with two on each side of the aisle, we saw two seats together near the back of the plane. Across the row, the window seat was taken.  Praying for a miracle where all four of us could sit together, I asked the man sitting there if he would consider sitting somewhere else so our family could sit together.  He said sure & we settled in.  

We attempted to get Jack to take a nap on the flight, as he was so sad & clingy, but he would not sleep.  Logan was in really good spirits & I was grateful, as he was my seatmate.  About a half hour into the two hour flight, we were offered drinks.  Josh & I got Coca Cola & we ordered Cranberry Juice for the twins.  Just after receiving his juice, Jack told Josh he wanted his water. He was rolling around in his seat uncomfortably, when all of a sudden he started vomiting. He threw up long enough for Josh to find the air sickness bag & have Jack puke some into that.  Josh said the worst part (and I agree wholeheartedly) was that the bag was warm.  Something about the warmth, the heat of liquid vomit makes it ten times more disgusting. I think the heat of it is actually worse than the smell.

Instantly I jumped into action.  Grabbed the wipes & a change of clothes for Jack (which I had thought to pack in his carry-on, thankfully) and switched seats with Josh.  Josh was grateful Jack hadn’t thrown up on his school laptop, which Jack was watching a movie on, and I was grateful he hadn’t thrown up on my brand new white North Face jacket,which he was using for a pillow.  I pulled his shirts off, wiped him down & put on fresh clothes.  Once I was done, he wanted his daddy, so Josh let him fall asleep on his arm for a bit.  I honestly don’t think he had a bug. I think he had eaten nothing but munchy junk for days and hadn’t slept well the previous night or napped that day. And for Jack, sleep is crucial. Logan can go without sleep, but Jack cannot.

Breath taking views from the flight to Bethel

I was so relieved when we started our descent for Bethel.  We had made it through one more flight. Just one to go.  We got out on the tarmac in Bethel to -20 degree weather. Brr!!!  It was cold, but the air was also so fresh.  We followed an ERA worker into the terminal, which is roughly the size of most people’s kitchen/dining/living rooms combined.  

 Josh approached the counter & was shocked to find out our flight hadn’t been canceled.  We immediately started getting ready for what would be our final flight. 

Random planes on the runway in Bethel

 I already had on my snow boots, but I put on my snow pants, coat, two hats, a scarf, a pair of fleece gloves & a pair of down mittens.  Then I got the boys ready- same deal: snow pants, coats, scarves, hats, liner gloves & mittens. Before we knew it, they called the Cunningham family to meet their pilot by the door.  
This was it.

The pilot opened the door to a gorgeous evening. The sun was setting, and the moon was nearly full in the sky opposite.  It had already gotten remarkably colder than when we were last on the runway.  Josh & the pilot went right to work loading the last of our belongings, the multiple carry-ons, into the tiny 207 plane.  I have since learned that the 207 we were on was the first one that had flown into Marshall in quite some time because when the temperature is below -35 degrees, 207's are grounded. 
The whole time Wyatt was screaming.  I tried to comfort him, but knew he was just tired.  He was drooling (as always) and when I went to wipe his wet chin with his bib, the bib crackled. The drool in it had froze!  So I used his blanket to wipe his drool-soaked face. 

Never once did Logan or Jack mention, let alone complain about, the cold.  They were such good boys.  Jack seemed to be feeling better since he threw up.  And Logan was just plain excited.  After the guys loaded the plane, we started climbing in. 

The pilot had to tell us where to sit so the weight was evenly distributed.  Jack sat in the back, all by himself, with his sound reducing headphones on.  Logan sat next to me, and Wyatt was on my lap.  Josh sat shotgun, next to the pilot.  

As the plane drove out onto the runway in preparation for takeoff, Josh reached back & squeezed my knee.  In that moment I felt so proud of us.  

As we took off into the air, there was not an ounce of fear in my body. I was so excited to be on this flight, taking my family to the place where we would finally be together.
 

The boys were equally excited to be heading to Marshall to see our Alaska house.  It was a fun flight. The boys discovered they could see their breath, and spent the first twenty minutes making O's and puffing away. It was so cute.

Jack eventually fell asleep, but Logan and I played high five & other silly hand games the whole time.  I felt lucky that it was a very smooth ride.  Josh said sometimes the turbulence is terrible.  Jack wasn’t the only one who fell asleep, Wyatt also slept. For most of the flight, in fact. It was nice to have his warm cozy self all bundled up in my arms sitting on my lap because it.was.cold.  And I could feel it getting colder the further north we crept.

Leaving Bethel

Looking out the windows of the plane at the vast tundra below made me feel very small & insignificant in the big scheme of things.  Yet, it was also very life affirming.  I felt so alive.  To be on this adventure, doing something I never would have imagined doing, feels like living. Really living.

 Before I knew it the flight was over (it’s 60 miles & a little over thirty minutes from Bethel to Marshall) and we were banking hard right to come up to Marshall’s landing strip.  The landing was smooth as butter, and I was so grateful to be on the ground and done with our travels.

Terry (the principal) & Tina (his wife) picked us up from the airport in the big Econo Van from the school. It was -31 degrees outside.  Time was of the essence, so I handed Logan to Tina, Wyatt to Terry & retrieved a sleepy Jack from the back of the plane. By the time I got Jack out of the plane, Logan had climbed back out of the van & come running back to me, crying.  He wanted to make sure I was coming with him.  He was so confused.  Josh & the pilot finished loading the van & we were soon on our way with Josh in the fourth row of seats; Logan, Jack and I in the second; and Wyatt in Tina’s lap in the passenger seat. We first dropped off Wesley, a local resident, who had walked, in -31 degree weather, to drop his son at the airport, a two mile walk from his house.  Then we got a “tour” of the town from Terry (the post office, the church, the general store & the hunting store, as well as the two gas pumps, the teenagers’ favorite hangout, and finally our housing.)  Never was I as happy as when Josh was unlocking the door and guiding our travel weary children inside.

My first impression was that this is home.  Something about the space, the sparseness of it, or the large dining room table, reminds me of my grandma’s house, and that is very comforting to me.
  

The first thing the boys noticed was the train table, set up front & center, in the living room.  Instantly they were out of their snow gear & on their knees driving trains across the bridge & through the tunnel.  “Is this our Alaska house?” they asked repeatedly.  Just being here, in the place we could finally call home, felt like a sigh of relief.  We had made it.

And just in time for bedtime, too.  It was a bit of a frenzy trying to get all three kids ready for bed with our luggage splayed out all over the hard wood floors, but eventually it was just Josh and I downstairs, all three of our boys asleep in their beds upstairs, cozily dreaming away.

 After unpacking a few more essentials I knew we would need in the morning, Josh and I called it a night as well and headed up to the humongous room we share with Wyatt.  The moonlight was soooo bright in our bedroom.  I just laid there in bed, staring out at the stars, until I could not fight it any longer & fell asleep.  Next to my husband. In our Alaska house.  
Finally, our journey was complete.