bear lake shenanigans {ft. GG + CASSANDRA}

first things first// on nicknames...

I've never been one to care about my name being spelled or said correctly,but on account of much confusion, I thought I'd clear the air.  Gg's nickname is said Jij (unless you're his friends, then it's Ji-juh)& my name on practically every social media account happens to actually be the name my mama gave me. 

Cassandra Skyway Dillard. 

& no my mother was never a free-spirited hippie:)

Anal Annie coming through!

 Ask Gg and he will tell ya how paranoid I am about getting hurt on any contraption really and especially this one.

 This was taken just seconds after I was brave enough to lift my feet off of the ground & gain enough speed to get a little wind-blown hair. Pretty sure those shoes really took a beating. P.S yeah, yeah. This wasn't taken in Bear Lake, but this was one of my favorite days with the Gg & it deserves to be documented.

Small snapshot of what Heaven must look like. Bear Lake 2014.

Okay, NO WORDS. Would you look at him? His sweet, kind, baby blues, some midnight melodies
& some sleeping-bag snuggles (shhh) are my jam.
 Don't let this fool you into thinking I'm a musical genius, or anything. I can play "hot-cross-buns" on the piano & a uke rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside"...OH! I also do a pretty good job at belting anything Celine Dion.

Happy Birthday North America! We love you & fireworks & ice-cream & sunshine & blistering sunburns &
 this lake and the fish and freedom in it. 

You may have picked up on Michael's sweet disposition, but the proof is in the picture. Upon command by little miss Addi (my four year old cousin/sister) he plopped down in the muck while these crazy babes proceeded to give him a perfectly cleansing and rejuvenating spa treatment for TWO HOURS.

 I never asked Michael, but I'm sure mud was found in some pretty unique places afterwards.

#fromwhereistand (sit)

EVERYONE loves Michael. Everyone. 

Especially my house-mate cousins and especially this little pesty pickle, who provided her hair styling techniques with out charging a single dime. 

Love this Mac.

Addi-doo & all her babies (named Big One, Little One and...can't remember the others) love to snuggle when Addi isn't bossing Gg around or talking our ears off. Love the Addi-doo. 

When you see a field of flowers...

Gg and I drove past this site of sun & alfalfa on our way home from the great lake, so naturally we pulled over immediately. After fighting off blood-thirsty mosquitos and dodging (what seemed like) a million bees, this is what we came away with.

 I won't complain.

The best part about this adventure? Gg is such a great sport. 

I say, "Hey Gg, wanna run through this field of alfalfa that could quite possibly give you hives the size of my eyeballs?"

He says, "Of course Cass and even though it's the Sabbath, I'll take you to get a shake and fries (yeah, not proud of my diet 

as of late, but I can't pass up ice-cream) on the way home." I'm really also not proud of going out to eat on Sunday (embarrassed emoji).
I'm glad you dropped by. xoxo, cass

New girl.

Hello there. I'm the new girl on the street & not a clue what I'm doing on here. I started this little bloggy of mine months ago and I finally figured I'd been dragging my feet long enough. We'll see where this little piece of the web takes me or rather where life takes me.  

M    E    X    I    C    O

My first trip out of the country was more like flying on a spaceship to a whole other planet. The culture, the food, the people, the climate, the rain & most all aspects of Mexico were new and unexpected. I was greeted by the warmest human beings in the solar system, fell in love with pan dulce (sweet bread), ate refried beans (for breakfast, lunch and dinner), got sick...very sick, took a million taxis, went to a catholic church, went to an LDS church, literally slid in dog poo, witnessed unimaginable poverty, climbed a mountain and walked where the Aztecs walked. It was wild, difficult, exhausting and energizing all at once. I wanted to roll all of Mexico into my hands, place it in a jar and take it home. So...my wish is was little impractical, but Mexico gave me something better.

My gift from Mexico....

Mexico taught me how completely powerful I am. How powerful we all are. As an individual we can say one thing a day to empower another. It's a thought, a word, an action. When we encounter a complication in our collective world or within our own spirits, we shy away. The possibility of failure is too intimidating. However, we are never going to have all the answers. No one is going to write a script or an instructional guide for the difficulties we face & if they did, it would't work how we want it to. We are unique individuals with strengths, weaknesses, bruises and interactions with the world. We need to take the initiative to fix the uncomfortable realities around us. Don't stop because you don't have the answers. Start where you are. It's all you can do. We are not perfect. We really aren't. And your best cannot be compared to mine. Your best now (in this moment) is also not comparable to last year, yesterday, an hour ago, or even a minute ago. We are all changing, evolving, growing, connecting, every single second of each and every day. Let's refrain from shying away from the difficulties around us. Let's look at our realities with an open eye. And be kind to yourself. Just BE KIND. 

On another note, if you're looking for GREAT summer read check out The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz. It's a little strange and eccentric, but it will change your life. I swear it. 

Mi casa and home away from home while in Mexico.

Mi mama Mexicana, Isa (my Mexican mom).

Remember when I said I walked where the Aztecs walked? I wasn't kidding.

When in Mexico...

The beautifully kind and silly kiddos at Caminando Unidos, an incredible school we visited and learned from.

Isn't she darling and so so so CHUBBY. Love it.

The sweetest couple to ever own a pan dulce shop.

Just strangers from the street that I absolutely adore. This man sat outside the same gas station every single day, all day & would shout an "HOLA" every time we passed.

Goodbyes are the worst. Hate them. Missing my mama, Isa.

SLC

Sad to leave, but the happiest of homecomings. Love my Gg.