Now that my family has moved and settled back into our home State of Arizona, I will have a teeny bit more time on my hands.

And, what better way to spend some time than to catch up on what a summer with the Chesters is like.

I bring you...

DCIM\103GOPRO

Towards the start of summer, we traveled to my sister's house in Chandler, AZ. On the way home, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to tour an Alpaca Farm! Be sure to check them out Southwest Alpaca Tours

Did I mention the new house has a pool?  Well, now ya know.

I don't think there are many things more fun than eating chocolate ice cream...pool side.

At the new house, we do get some odd visitors...

We took a trip to visit some family near the ocean.

Huntington Beach from the pier  |  Abigayle enjoying the breeze.

A macro shot of a mushroom in the grass  |  A globe near a window

Skateboard wheel inside a shop on main street

On the way home from the ocean, some freeways were closed due to floods, so we took the road less traveled and happened across Amboy, CA

This was in one of the rooms at the abandoned motel alongside the road in Amboy. A couple of the rooms look like they have art installations in them.

As promised to our 2 daughters, our last stop before home was this supposedly, haunted house located in Needles, CA. They were so excited to stop and see it.  I know as a kid, I loved to drive by and just stare out the window at it on our way to my grandpa's house. I was always told by others that it was haunted and heard numerous stories about the house as a kid growing up in the area. 

Not too long after we were back from our trip to the ocean, we decided to take the kids and some of their friends to see Oatman, AZ. A real mining/ ghost town.

This little burro was not very old, he/she had to have a sticker placed on his/her head so that tourist wouldn't feed it, as it should only be drinking mama's milk at this time.

Part of an old, closed-off mine that you can walk into  |   Staircase to the store below, taken from the bike museum upstairs

If you have never been to Oatman, you have to go, plain and simple. It was one of my favorite places to go as a kid. My kids and I have gone a few times now, and they love it everytime. 

Sometime during the summer, we rescued a rabbit. Meet Humphrey. My dear friend Brenda had a friend-of-a-friend, that had a rabbit sitting in her front yard in the summer heat of Las Vegas. Someone needed to rescue the rabbit before it died from the heat. Brenda saw us as being fit parents and brought this beautiful boy to our house.

A group of photographer friends of mine set out to Goldfield, NV, to take some amazing star photos. I was not able to go on the day they had scheduled, so I did my own trip out to the desert, a few nights later, to grab some shots of the stars above. I love how you can clearly see the Big Dipper in this one.

I will end my craziness here, as you are completely caught up to date. (Other than a few pictures of my girls starting school and all that.)