now our lives are changing fast.

Bucketfuls of good things have happened since I've last written anything. Bucketfuls.

Chase and I took a weekend vacation in Maui. Camped in the most absurd wind I've ever encountered, drove the Road to Hana, saw tons of waterfalls, went to the top of the real high crater, ate our weight in gelato, resort hopped and got sleeping in a Mazda3 down to a science. This trip also marked the beginning of our love affair with card games, which has only picked up since returning.

I graduated from college, and Chase . . . almost did. We walked at the commencement ceremony together, but he's not official 'til he passes Physics and Life Saving this summer (and then takes Abstract Algebra . . . the kid is going on 14 semesters). I spent the entire ceremony scanning the program for ridiculously long hawaiian names and crossing my fingers that the announcer would screw up their pronunciation, since entertainment was so scarce. Literally, one graduate's last name was "Leimamoia'umeheiponolo'ikamakaokeao." oh, and another graduate was named Risky? Just Risky. No middle name, no last name, just Risky. Sure, fine.

We also sold our beloved beater truck. Honestly, we'd been wanting to sell the thing for months, but I'm just so damn lazy. I can go far enough to make a Craigslist posting, but when I have to start returning calls and responding to emails, I absolutely fail. I was fine with making casual progress on selling it until our neighbors borrowed it and came home telling us that it slipped into reverse and the accelerator jammed, causing it to suddenly speed 4o mph backwards with no foot on the gas pedal. So, no more rusty F250 with the obscenely ripped driver's seat, boasting fuel mileage of up to 8 miles per gallon and teeming full of sweet memories. It was a bittersweet sell.

But we replaced it with a, erm, minivan? I guess all sense of style goes out the window when you get married, because we're both smitten with the thing. It's a '99 Toyota Sienna, with a tape deck, a/c and drink holders. Needless to say, we are very much pleased with our purchase. We bought it on Monday, and today the seller texted me asking that we wipe his phone number off the back windows because he kept getting calls from interested buyers. Again, we are so lazy! Inexcusable.

Chase's parents and sister (and husband and sweet baby girl) came out for graduation and stayed to play for a week. It was so rad. We grilled, spent a couple days beaching it in town and Kailua, watched baby Aspen start walking for real, and ate wayyyy too much good food.

And i started a new job, as a "Serving Assistant" at a restaurant called Ola, at Turtle Bay Resort. A.k.a., i'm a busser!!! Yaya. I was overwhelmed by the pride on my old Humanities teacher's face when he came in to eat and saw me putting my political science degree to good use as I filled his water glass. Joking aside, I love my job. It's a beautiful restaurant right on the beach, with no walls (it's all open) and tables on the sand. We serve seriously good food right up my alley -- food of the sea. Ahi poke, a different fresh fish every day, shrimp the size of my fist, scallops. . . it's a dream.

The only real sad thing that's happened lately is that Chase and I both lost our best friends to the mainland! My Maggie Eliza unexpectedly headed home to St. Louis for the summer last week, and Chase's best friend Skee took off for California after graduating. We miss 'em, bad.

Lotsa changes lately. But, we're still young, in love, and incredibly blessed. Or lucky. Or both.

That hasn't changed.