Ravens vs. The Cunningham Family

As you know, grocery shopping in rural Alaska presents some unique challenges.  (More posts on that here & here.)  Fruits & vegetables often freeze on the flight out here, arriving blackened; the co op is often out of eggs, cheese & other necessities; and lately Amazon hasn't been wanting to ship me canned goods on my prime account.  It can be very frustrating.  (Not to mention that we have no back up plan for meals--  There are no restaurants in Marshall.)

So on the rare occasion that exactly what I want arrives, like in my Span Alaska order, I am pretty giddy.  But this time when Josh came through the front door with our order, instead of being elated, I was annoyed!  While the food was sitting at the airport (which is simply a gravel runway), the ravens (giant blackbirds the size of cats or small dogs) pecked away at our boxes, helping themselves to our corn dogs and Totino's pizzas.

Rude!

How To Pretend You Live In Rural Alaska

Without ever setting foot on a 207, you too can have the bush Alaska experience.

Start your day in complete darkness with a sock in your mouth (to mimic the dry air effect) and get immediately into the shower.  For breakfast, whip yourself up some powdered milk and cereal, followed by instant coffee mixed with powder creamer.

Be sure to wash dishes (by hand with a sponge) after each meal, or you will want to die the next day when you wake up with a) two hours worth of dishes to do & b) no dishes on which to eat or cook.  After doing the dishes (or avoiding them, whatever suits you) start filling the Brita sysytem with water because since moving here your children have become camels that are apparently storing up water in their reserves for drought season, and every blessed day it needs to be refilled.

Spend the morning homeschooling your two ruffians while attempting to keep the third entertained enough to let the older two learn.  Good luck.

Then in the middle of a heartfelt conversation with your mom/sister/friend during quiet time, hang up.  Yep, just hang up. Later, after holding at least twenty minutes to talk to a real live customer service person, hang up on them, despite the importance of said phone call.

In the afternoon (but before 6:00pm, because that's when the store closes here) head to the store and only buy half the items on your MUST BUY list.  Try omitting things like butter, cottage cheese, coffee creamer and ice cream.  Then, when you get to the register, willingly pay twice the marked price for every item.  Oh, and you can't buy any tortillas, cookies or bread either.

On the weekend, when you finally get a day off with your husband home, you will need to spend at least four hours in the kitchen making four loaves of bread and 48 tortillas from scratch, while at the same time whipping up a batch of cookies for the kids to devour on movie night.

To go to the doctor, just hop on two planes, rent a car and reserve a hotel room.  Plan on at least one extra day in Bethel waiting for the weather to clear.  Oh, and don't forget your snow gear in case of below freezing temps.

Next Saturday night, once the kids are in bed and you are finally free to peruse Pinterest guilt-free, go shut off your internet. Twenty minutes later, turn it back on.  Then off. Then on. Then off again.  Repeat for at least two hours.  Then give up and watch another episode of Pawn Stars. Then, five minutes before the show ends, turn off the TV.

And one more thing?  To make your whole experience legit, tell your girlfriends & family members outside your immediate family that you are terribly sorry, but you won't be able to see them again for nine months. No biggie, right?

Let me know how your experience is! ;)

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On a positive note, there's no sales tax here, and we do get the PFD for every member of our family.  And oh, you know, we see Josh everyday for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Not to mention that I don't have to work and finally get to be the stay-at-home mom I've always dreamed of.  We truly are blessed by our life in out here... but some things make keeping my sanity in the bush pretty tough!

Weather in rural Alaska

The weather in Alaska is probably the thing that comes up most in conversation when people find out I live here.  

Marshall is in Southwest Alaska, in the Yukon Delta.  We are south of the Arctic Circle, but we still have fairly severe cold and dark during winter.  We can reach -60, but -30 is more common.  Highs in the summer reach mid 70's generally.  Daylight goes from just over four hours of daylight per day in winter to nearly twenty hours of daylight per day in summer.

In the summer people in town do camp out & swim.  I don't know if anyone ever gets a kiddie pool as it generally doesn't get that warm here.  That said, last year it was HOT to the people of Marshall.  It was in the mid eighties for much of the summer.  We have never swam in Marshall (in the Yukon or any of the sloughs) because we are not here for long before the cold sets in. It usually starts snowing at some point in September.

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Danger:
Weather in the winter is dangerous because of blizzards, deep snow and severe cold.  The wind can make the cold feel colder, and those nasty temperatures we have, like -4 or -12, HURT YOUR FACE.  That's really the only way I can describe it. Generally your entire body is covered except your face, so that's what hurts when you go out and it's that cold.  The cold can make your eyes water, your nose crust up (even your snot freezes) and your cheeks ache.  It can also literally take your breath away.  When it's really cold, it's difficult to take a full breath into your lungs and when that cold air comes in, it forces an involuntary cough that is very frustrating.  Breathing through a scarf helps some.

Weather in the spring is dangerous as well thanks to melting ice (especially on the river for those traveling by snow machine) and wild animals waking up from hibernation hungry.

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Cars do have to be plugged in here.

And it is not cool when someone forgets!

Then it has to be jumped.

These extension cords travel from an external outlet to the truck and van which are equipped with engine block warmers to keep them from freezing up.

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Freezing rain is probably the worst weather we have.

We are equipped to deal with snow and cold, but freezing rain is awful.

It's dangerous, both to drive & fly in, and it makes even travel by foot very difficult.

It also makes seeing out our bedroom window a challenge!

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Regardless of how extreme, though, school is NEVER canceled for weather.

Generally speaking, it is only canceled for water or power outage.  It is also canceled if there is a funeral in town.  School cancelation is announced on the VHF.

Despite the cold outside, our house is rarely, if ever, below 70 degrees, which is why the boys are often in shorts & t-shirts. I gave up that fight.  If we're going out, they have to gear up, otherwise, I try to let them pick. And often, it's basketball shorts!

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People often say that they could never do what we've done.  All I can say is that when the opportunity presented itself, we were in a position where yes was the only answer that made sense.

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Thank you so much for reading this week.
I hope you enjoyed the Rural Alaska Living Series.
Don't forget to add your email address on the right side bar if you'd like to get post updates.
And any time you have questions, just shoot them my way,
I will be collecting them for future rural Alaska posts.

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The BEST and WORST of life in rural Alaska

People often ask me the BEST thing about living in rural Alaska...

My number one answer? 

Being with my children.  

Finally, after two long years, becoming a stay-at-home mom, is hands down, the best part of being out here.  Homeschooling them, raising them as I see fit, and never having to leave them...  That's the BEST part about choosing to live out here.  Being here made that dream come true.

Moving out here has allowed Josh to provide for us, 

which strengthened our marriage and set his career off on a running start.

Let's be honest, another "BEST" out here is the money.  Josh makes remarkably more here than he would in the same position in Washington, which means we are able to pay down our debt, and set ourselves up for the future.  With three boys to put through college one day, we desperately need to eliminate our debt (both credit & student loans) so we can start saving!  The yearly Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) that Alaskan residents receive for energy production in Alaska also helps.  Last year residents got $900 each.  Over a few years, that adds up!

(As an added bonus, living out here doesn't provide a lot of money-spending opportunities so long as you stay away from online shopping.  I rarely go to the co op, so most of the money manages to stay in our pockets!)

Of course, the "BEST" thing about living out here is the experience.  It can't be nailed down or quantified, but just is living rural Alaska.  Attending Eskimo dances, hunting for our own food, witnessing God's beautiful handiwork across the Arctic sky and playing in snow the likes of which most people never see.  It is the stuff of dreams.

... that said, I am also often asked what the WORST thing about living in rural Alaska is.

{Photo courtesy of Peter Werts}

One of the first things that flashes through my mind is the dump.  When they burn the dump, it often wafts to our house and we have to turn off our HVAC system.  The stink is also annoying occasionally when we're playing outside.

Another challenge about living out here is the isolation & loneliness.  I think that's why Saturday Social & Girls Nite are so important to me.  My friendships with people out here are invaluable and staying connected with friends and family back home is also vital.  

And the last thing that makes living in rural Alaska challenging is missing conveniences & people.  When the day has been long and I don't feel like cooking, I miss the ability to pick up a pizza for dinner.  When we've been stuck inside for weeks and we're tired of each others' company, I long for my mom or sister or best friend to be able to "drop by" and cheer me up.  

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Good or bad, I will admit that most times my daily life keeps me pretty busy & involved.  Some days I even forget where we are. Truly.  The majority of the time I am just a mom, raising three sons.  Wake, feed, wash & repeat.

I am always touched (and surprised really) when people tell me that what I do is amazing.  I don't always feel all that amazing.  I have my moments (like when we're all crawling into a 207 to fly over wild Alaska to our home in Marshall) where I think, "Wow. We're really doing this. We're really living this dream."  But there are other days when I am just praying for bedtime like every other mom on the planet.

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If you are considering moving to rural Alaska, please let me know.  I have been contacted three times now by different people looking for families relocating to Alaska for television shows.  I have promised to pass their information along to anyone interested!

Speaking of Alaska TV shows, 

I couldn't do an entire week on rural Alaska living without mentioning my personal favorites.

The Last Frontier
Gold Rush
Deadliest Catch
Yukon Men
Flying Wild Alaska
Buying Alaska
Living Alaska

*Every single one of those shows is on Discovery except for Living Alaska, which is on HGTV.

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I hope you have enjoyed my Rural Alaska Living Series this week.

Tomorrow concludes the series with Weather in rural Alaska.

Thanks for reading, 

and don't forget to use the email option on the right sidebar 

if you'd like to receive blog post updates from The Cunningham Family in bush Alaska.

Life with Small Children in Rural Alaska

Many of my readers, I believe, are stay at home moms.  And many of them wonder how I do what I do.  I assure you, I am not a perfect mom.  It takes constant vigilance and creativity to keep these boys happy & entertained while we are locked in the house for months at a time!

Sanity starts and ends with a good routine.  When I was struggling with anxiety, the schedule brought much needed continuity to our days.

A typical week day for us looks like this:

6:30am Good morning, Mommy

The boys wake up and come in our room, announcing that the light is green.

Josh showers while I have the boys get dressed & make their beds.

I shower while Josh feeds the boys breakfast and has them brush their teeth.

8:00am Bye Daddy

Josh leaves for work and our day begins.

Sometimes we watch cartoons for a bit in the morning while I finish getting the house ready, putting away dishes, switching laundry & waking the house up.

9:00am School for the twins

We move into the playroom where we do their math, writing and daily journals.

While we work, Wyatt does ABC Mouse on the iPad.  He loves it!

Sometimes he joins us or does puzzles.

10:30am Morning Snack

Usually something simple like Goldfish or a granola bar

11:30am Lunch

Josh joins us for lunch everyday, which makes us all very happy.  We eat as a family at the table and afterwards he heads back to work and the boys and I head upstairs to read stories before nap time.  Stories before nap time is a new habit, and one that I love.  It settles the boys after lunch, gets them an extra three books each day, and allows me a little extra snuggle time, which is my favorite.

12:15pm Nap Time

Once we are done reading, one twin stays in my room for silent reading, and the other twin goes downstairs for silent reading.  Meanwhile, I take Wyatt into his room to lay him down for nap time.  We turn on the fan, his humidifier and the bedtime CD and he snuggles in.

12:30pm Reading

After Wyatt is down for his nap, the twins and I focus on reading.  They take turns reading to me while the other brother does his time on ABC Mouse.  This allows for awesome one on one time and the boys have thrived on this new routine.

1:30pm Quiet Play Time

When the boys finish reading they can play quietly in the playroom or at the kitchen table.  They often play sand or Imaginext.  While they play, I get a chance to read or blog.  This is my "me" time.

2:30pm Wake Up

I make sure Wyatt is awake by 2:30pm.  Most days he is already up, but if he's not, I wake him up in order to preserve bedtime.  We all have afternoon snack, and then head outside, weather permitting.

5:00pm Dinner

I usually try to get dinner going by 5:00pm so we can eat by 5:30pm.  After we eat the boys clear the table, brush their teeth and get on pajamas.

6:15pm Bedtime Stories

By 6:15pm, we are heading upstairs for story time, boys all brushed and wearing jammies.  We read three books, one for each boy, then go potty and tuck them in bed.  After hugs, kisses and prayers, we walk out the door at 7:00pm.

After bedtime I head downstairs, do the dishes and read, blog or watch TV.  I also work hard to prepare for the next day-- tidying the playroom, prepping for the next days' dinner and making sure the house is clean before I go upstairs at 9:00pm.

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Entertainment

How do I entertain the kids? Honestly, some days, there's a lot of TV. But other days, we go outside, no matter the weather.  We play in 0 degrees, and we have been known to play in the rain.  We love when there's snow to play in, but we aren't afraid of mud.  Spring time usually brings with it daily baths, as the boys are filthy every time we come in from outside.

Another trick to surviving life in rural Alaska with small children is that I rotate the toys.  We use those Rubbermaid Totes I told you about to store toys in the playroom closet, and every few weeks I pull out a new tote and place some oft-used toys in its place to give the playroom a sense of excitement!

I also enforce alone time for the boys, sending one upstairs with some toys and leaving another downstairs with some toys so they can work on their independent play.  When they play together, they tend to fight, which means I end up playing referee, and sometimes, I just need a break!

Bath time is another sanity saver.  The boys love to have long baths, bringing in toys and turning into prunes from soaking.  I love throwing them in the tub. It's a great mood changer, and gives them (again) some much needed alone time.

We are also big on tag readers, tablets, and the sand I mentioned earlier.

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Bikes

The boys love riding their bikes.  Someone mentioned that it looks like they are ready for bigger bikes, and let me assure you, they have bigger bikes in Washington!  This is our second year with these bikes up here, so they are definitely a tight fit!  We're not sure yet if we'll ship their bigger bikes up this fall.  We'll have to wait and see. The first year they hardly rode at all (too much snow), but this year they have ridden a bunch. Little brother has requested a bike for his birthday, and I am all too happy to oblige. I can hardly wait!

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Saturday Social

Saturday Social is the boys' absolute favorite activity.  It runs from 10am to 12pm Saturday at the school for eligible (well behaved) students who earned it during the week.  The kids can play on scooters, run in the gym, play basketball, play xbox or have computer time.  There is also a student store that's open during Saturday Social where the kids can get popcorn and slushees.  If they have a high enough percentage, they get those items free. If they didn't earn them, they can pay cash.

Saturday Social is run on a volunteer basis by the teachers and principal.  Some weeks there's only two teachers, some weeks there are many more. It just depends.  Same with students. Sometimes there's a ton of kids, other weeks there are only a few.

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Gearing Up

Hands down, the worst part about having three small children in rural Alaska is gearing them up.  I will admit it is easier now than when we first got here (and had two 3 year olds and a six month old), but it still feels like getting ready happens at a snails' pace.  First it's pants and shirts and socks.  Then it's gloves and sweaters and snow pants.  Then it's big coats, mittens and snow boots.  Then hats and scarves.  Times three. Plus myself.  

Then, when we get where we're going, there's the "ungearing", which can take just as long as the gearing up.  And after the event is done, we get to gear up again, come home, and "ungear" again. Oh for joy.

The single most frustrating thing is putting gloves on small, chubby hands.  I have decided that mittens were created so adults would not kill small children after the seventh attempt to get all five fingers in the appropriate spaces in a tiny pair of gloves.  

Some notes on gear--  For the muddy season we're in right now, I swear by rain pants and Croc boots.  The croc boots are my favorite because the boys can walk into a knee deep puddle, fill their boots with water, and when we get home, I simply dump the boot out, and dry the inside with a towel.  Their old boots had material inside that took days to dry.  The new Croc boots are a revelation!

For snow, we like overall snow pants because the boys tend to roll around in the snow, and overalls keep the snow away from their bodies.  It's also important the snow pants be waterproof, especially when we play out for a long time.  Gloves need to be waterproof as well.  For our feet, we all wear Sorels.  They are plenty warm and last forever.

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Friends

The boys' friends here include some of the teachers' children and also children from the village.  For the most part, we play at the playground with our friends.  We also see them at Saturday Social.

My friends here are mostly teachers.  We get together whenever we can.

We also work hard to stay in touch with family and friends back home, calling and writing letters.  That way in the summer, the kids remember them!

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Penpals

Speaking of friends, Amy asked if we would be interested in having penpals.  The answer is a resounding YES! If you send us a letter, a post card or a package, we will do our best to write you back.  We LOVE getting mail, and I LOVE sending mail, so if you're interested, drop us a line!

Cunningham Family

PO Box 153

Marshall, AK 99585

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We are nearing the end of the Rural Alaska Living Series.

Tomorrow is The BEST and WORST of life in rural Alaska

& Saturday we conclude with Weather in rural Alaska

I hope you've enjoyed the series.

Please keep the questions coming, even if I don't ask for them.

I save them up for future rural Alaska posts!

Hunting & Health in rural Alaska

Our neighbor got a moose earlier this year and shared a leg with us.  Josh had to skin it, butcher it, cut it into chunks and then grind it into hamburger.  It was a long process, but one that provided us with a lot of extra meat in our freezer, which is always a good thing!

Here is that process:

{We tried my Kitchen Aid attachment, but it failed!}

{Thankfully our neighbor loaned us their meat grinder, which worked great!}

{We put roughly two pounds into each bag}

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Hunting:

Before moving to Alaska, Josh did not hunt.  He also did not own guns.  In fact, I was one of "those" moms who wasn't going to allow guns. At all. Ever. Ha!  It's funny to look back and see how much I've changed!

When they get bigger, the boys will absolutely go shooting with Josh.  The magic age, we think, will be 8.  At 8, we will let them get a BB gun and start shooting that with Josh.  We will teach them with those, and go from there.  In order to actually hunt with him, they will need to be older and stronger physically as the chase can be quite exhausting.

They would love to hunt with Josh, and I think he would love that, too.

Living out here, they understand and respect more than I ever did, the animals' sacrifice so we can eat them.  They often ask what animal the meat we're eating came from. I am very frank about it. We killed it so we can live. I don't feel bad about it because it's not being wasted.

Hunting is done in one of two ways generally-- by boat or by snow machine, depending on the season.  Josh hasn't gone hunting alone, which I'm grateful for, both because it's safer, but also because if you catch something, it's really nice to have a second set of hands to help you butcher it and get it back to the village.  The moose Josh caught our second year weighed roughly 800 pounds, so he had to cut it into several pieces in order to move it.  Hunting from a boat is challenging because you are shooting from a bobbing boat, but hunting on snow machine during winter is challenging because once you shoot it, you have to go on foot through feet and feet of snow to track it and bring it in.

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Eating:

I have only had moose, seal and salmon.  I have not tried bear or wolf.  The moose is lean, and has a "gamey" flavor, but I love it.  Moose burgers are especially good, but we also use ground moose in everything, like tacos & chili.  Too much moose can be hard on my stomach to process, so I am careful not to eat too much.  Seal, which I have only tried once, was very oily and not to my liking.  But wild Alaska salmon... is amazing! I love it baked, canned, dried.  It's always delicious!

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{Beaver Dam near Marshall}

 Wildlife:

In Alaska the boys and I have seen a red fox and a moose off our front walk.  Wolves & bear often come into town.  Everyone will get on the VHF to warn one another.  We personally have not seen wolves or bears, but both have been sighted this year in town. 

This is the most dangerous time to run into bears.  They are waking up hungry, and the river is still frozen (no fish) and spring is not in full bloom (no berries). So what you have is a very hungry guy with no access to food, and that's bad news!

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{The Yukon River by boat}

Exercise:

Josh and I work out at home using videos in our living room.  I do yoga occasionally, also at home.  The natives love to play basketball, ride their snow machines and walk everywhere.  The kids ice skate when there is ice.

People walk along the tundra, down to the river or local sloughs, 4 wheel to Mt. Pilcher and hike, climb, or walk up our little mountain.  It is dangerous now that the are bears awake, so it's important to make a lot of noise when you're walking, as well as carry bear mace or a gun.  You can also run into wolves or moose, which can be equally dangerous.  Moose are fast! And often aggressive.  They are the largest land mammal in North America.

Our boys love to go on walks, play at the playground and ride their bikes.  They, too, have kid workout videos they can do while stuck in the house, which are a nice option for those long winter months when it's too cold to get out of the house.

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Stay tuned for the rest of the Rural Alaska Living Series:

Tomorrow is Life with Small Children in rural Alaska

Friday is The BEST and the WORST of life in rural Alaska

& Saturday closes up with Weather in rural Alaska