On Monday, we said good bye to Jenn and family and Lisa and family. We were sad to see more family head home. Then it was just Jaz, Ryan and us who were left to play tourist. We decided to go into Astoria for the day and see the sights. We took the babies and Rhiannon too. We were waiting for the trolley to pick us up but it had just left and we didn't want to wait for an hour for it to come back. Instead we headed to Tiffany's work at a swimming pool where she is a lifeguard. This photo is of the Coast Guard ship. Jazmine was very interested in talking to the sailors.
We didn't go into the Columbia River Maritime Museum but it looked interesting. Maybe next time I will go in to see what is inside.
Jazmine walking by the museum on the way to the pool.
The kids noticed this large bell next to the tracks. They went over to ring it and it was soooo LOUD!!! They ran back holding their hands over their ears. It was pretty funny to watch.
They each had to take a turn ringing the bell and then running away laughing. Jazmine, Rhiannon and Ryan.
We had really nice weather that day. This is a large ship out on the Columbia River.
We met Tiffany and her boys, Racer and Ryder at the pool. Tiffany was trying to hold Jazmine and Rhiannon still for the photo. I took it anyway because I like candid shots. Tiffany wasn't working that day. It was her day off. She ran errands with the boys but she got all of us in for free. Thanks Tiffy!!
This is inside the pool area. It has this cool water slide that kids can go down. There is also a kiddie area with really shallow water and a small lazy river that has currents that push you around. On the right there is a pool just for swimming laps. Here are Rhiannon and Jazmine getting ready to hit the water for a couple of hours.
The walls inside are painted with the historic sights in Astoria. You can see a lifeguard sitting on the stand in the bottom right hand corner. Look how big the murals are!!
Another mural on the wall.
Ryan and Jazmine are swimming laps in the pool. Ryan is an excellent swimmer. He has his arm out of the water.
Ryan is under water and Jazmine is swimming behind him. Tiffany was trying to teach Jazmine how to do the correct stroke and breathing pattern.
Picture of someone coming down the slide.
Rhiannon on the stairs getting ready to come down the slide. She went down so fast that I only got a picture of her splashing in the water.
There she is. . . coming out of the slide like a bullet.
Barry is holding Chantrell at the pool. We waited while the kids swam for two hours. Let me tell you . . . it was hot in there and so humid. You could smell the strong chlorine. Tiffany says that she has to work in that heat and smell for four hours then she takes a break and then she teaches lessons.
Swimming is over and where is Ryan?? He is a turtle coming out of his shell.
Slowly, his head comes out of the warm environment.
There he is!! Sitting next to him is his sister, Jazmine. Both of the kids got the sweatshirts in Seaside from Grandma Bowman. We waited a few minutes for the trolley to pick us up. It only cost a $1 or $2 per person, just a donation to ride it for an hour. It takes you along the Columbia River stopping at different spots letting people on and off.
Barry, Jaz and Ryan.
Me and Rhiannon and her pet. The twins are in carseats by my feet.
Brenna drinking a baba.
The Astoria Bridge that takes you over the Columbia River to Washington State. The pictures were taken from the trolley through the windows. I let Jaz, Ryan and Rhiannon take turns with the camera. They took lots of pictures.
Picture of a restaurant on the river's edge.
Random pictures of what we saw.
The Cannery Pier Hotel next to the bridge.
Barry and Chantrell in her carseat next to him. The trolley was crowded so we had to sit where there were empty seats. What was really cool was when we had to turn around and go the other direction, everyone had to stand up and lift up on the back of their seat bench. The gold handle lifted up the back of the seat and instead of the trolley turning around we turned our seats from front to back, changing the direction in which we were seated. I hope I am making sense. It was interesting.
A very cute Rhiannon wearing her new sweatshirt.
Jazmine and Ryan in their seat.
Another view of the bridge.
And the bridge again.
Pretty flowers on a post.
Looking up the hill . . . the streets are very steep just like San Francisco.
The trolley operator.
The Astoria Column.
The trolley stopped at the bell and a little girl got out and rang it. She didn't know how loud it would be and came running back laughing.
We went right by Tiffany's work.
Rhiannon brought her "friends" along for the trolley ride.
Rhiannon took this picture of me. It's a little too close but it turned out nice.
Kids looking out the window.
I took this picture for you mom. He is showing how far you would have to step to get into the trolley. He said they have many blocks of wood to make it easier for you.
After the trolley ride we headed up to the Astoria Column. You couldn't walk up the steps because it was under repair.
This view is gorgeous. We are looking towards the Astoria Bridge and Washington.
Jazmine and Ryan had so much energy. Whenever we stopped somewhere they would jump out of the car and start running. They ran down this hill and back up it.
Rhiannon posed for a picture at the top of the hill.
Jazmine at the column.
Ryan and Jazmine are pretending to hold up the column. 
Ryan
Another pretty view.
Looking at all the different views from up top on the hill.
We went over the bridge into Washington. We stopped for ice-cream and postcards. The kids thought it was pretty fun.
When we got back home to mom and dad's place we saw a beautiful deer. It is a pretty common sight there.
OK, this post is finally over. Wooh!! I'm tired. It took me 3 and 1/2 hours to finish it. Hopefully you all enjoyed it.
On Tuesday, we headed over to Aunt Deanna's place. We had a nice visit and she got to hold the babies. She is holding Brenna.
This is Brenna and the white blanket that Deanna made for her.
Here is Chantrell.
Chantrell with her special blanket.
Later, we went to explore Fort Steven's Park. This is a lookout tower. From the top you can see the ocean on one side and then the river on the other side. 
A nice view from the parking lot.
I'm glad I took a picture of where we visited. This is the South Jetty.
Barry on the top of the platform taking pictures for mom. She stayed in the car with the babies.
Picture of Rhiannon on the platform. It was a windy day but nice and warm. 
A gorgeous view from up top of the platform.
Here is Jazmine sitting dangerously close to the ocean waves.
Ryan up on the rocks waiting for the ocean waves to soak him.
Beautiful but dangerous. . . we kept warning them to be careful on the wet rocks. Don't worry, nothing bad happened.
Ryan thought this was the best part of the day. He lives for danger. See all the driftwood on the rocks. The ocean has thrown those giant logs up on the rocks like they were twigs. 
The ocean and the beach.
This is cute. Brother and sister together. 
Barry
Rhiannon joined in for the fun.
Whoa!!! That was a big wave!!
After the South Jetty, we went to the beach that has the ship, The Peter Iresdale. All that is left of the ship is the iron skeleton. 
Barry is taking pictures for mom again. 
Looking North towards Washington.
The spectacular beach and ocean. Ahhhh. . . I wish I could have stayed here for hours.
There is Ryan. He is always running everywhere we stopped.
After the beach, we went to the lake for some swimming and paddle boat riding. 
Mom is getting the kids a paddle boat to play in. Rhiannon, Jazmine and Ryan are putting on the life jackets.
The area with the rope is for swimming. The outer area is for the paddle boats and canoes. No motorboats are allowed on this lake.
Daddy Barry is keeping an eye on the girls. 
The kids are out on the lake having fun.
Mom is enjoying looking at the lake and the kids.
Close up of the kids out on the paddle boat.
Jazmine is about to jump out of the boat and go for a swim. All the kids took turns jumping into the lake and swimming around.
Picture of my girls doing what they do best. . . sleeping and eating. Chantrell is on the left and Brenna is on the right.
