Four Generations

I had a little goal in mind during our recent visit to Virginia over the weekend. I wanted to get a picture of all the Peery guys - 4 generations - all the way from Thomas's Granddad down to the boys. I thought about it last Christmas when we were all together and I missed the opportunity, so this time I was set on getting this picture!

Stokes, Granddad, Ryan, Abby, Thomas and William
LOTS of handsome fellas here!

So we were in Virginia last weekend visiting with Thomas's family and we really, really enjoyed the weekend. It feels like we're never there long enough and we try to cram too many things into a short period of time, and never feel like we get to do all that we had set out or wanted to do, but hey, maybe next time we'll stay longer. I think Thomas may take a Friday off work the next time we visit Tazewell, just so we'll have some more time!

We drove up on Friday after work and didn't get there until almost 10 pm, after a dinner/potty break on the way. The boys watched Disney movies in the van and were really good for the whole drive, but surprisingly they didn't sleep at all.

On Saturday they woke up and were ready to go! They wanted to do all the fun things that they love about being at Abby's house/in Tazewell: seeing the cows, riding the tractor, visiting with family and their buddy Davis, etc. Abby's land and house are a little boy's paradise and he really makes it fun for them to be there.

Checking out Abby's pond and cows
It's a beautiful view from Thomas's bedroom window

After breakfast and getting dressed, we went over to Joey and Lisa's house to have a little play date with Davis and our boys. It's so impressive to me that they all remember each other even though they only see one another once or twice a year! All the little guys had fun playing (Davis has a super fun set up at his house, too!) and Lisa and I didn't do our typical shopping trip, and just stayed there and hung out this time. We weren't able to stay as long as we would have liked because we were busy little bees and needed to go meet up with Abby for lunch. No worries, we'll be getting lots of time with this crew later on when we go to the beach!

William and Davis

William, Stokes, Ryan and Davis
These kids will be life long friends!

I've been hearing about this new restaurant on Main Street in Tazewell called Seven and couldn't wait to try it! We were planning to go there for dinner on Saturday night, but made a switch up in the plans and went for lunch instead. I enjoyed it so much! Thomas got the burger and it was amazing. I would highly recommend and plan to go back whenever I can when we're in Tazewell.
Seven website: www.dineatseven.com

Ryan, William and Abby (in the middle of a story!)

Stokes and Dada

William with the big cowboy boot up front

Thomas and the boys strolling down Main Street

Checking out this cool statue

William, Mama and Stokes

After lunch we were all feeling a little sleepy and went home to take a nap (well...the boys and I took a nap). Thomas got to hang out on Abby's back deck and enjoy the incredibly beautiful scenery and sweet Virginia mountain breeze. Thomas loves being back at home and I think it settles his mind and fills his heart.

After naps, we went over to Granddad and GranO's house to visit with them along with Fifi, Jerry and Mag. Again, this time spent was too short and we were constrained by time and plans. We always wish we could stay longer visiting with loved ones.

We love Abby's back yard!

When we got to Granddad's we saw that Mag had her convertible over there. These car-loving boys simply could not resist getting in there and "driving"! We all got a hoot out of it.

Stokes...3 going on 16

What a stinker!

William

Once Abby arrived at Granddad's, I was able to get the coveted 4 Generation picture that I had been hoping for!

Fifi with Thomas and Ryan

Abby and Mag with William and Stokes

Mag took S & W for a ride around Granddad's driveway.
They were PUMPED!

Woo hoo!!!!!!

We left from Granddad's and went to dinner at Fisher and Company BBQ. Check them out on Facebook. We've had takeout from here before while we've been at Abby's but we'd never been there in person to eat. The food is always good! We were in a time crunch to get there because this place is popular and very small! There are probably only about 10 tables or less inside. There's almost always a wait. Even though we arrived a little after 5 (super early!!!), we had about a 30 minute wait. That was all fine and good because they have a nice little patio area where the adults were able to sit down and enjoy a cold bev while the boys ran around the grassy areas surrounding the restaurant. There also happened to be a field with a tractor cutting hay right across the street - you know that was pure entertainment for my tractor-obsessed little guys!

At the restaurant fence watching for the tractors!

The food here was great, too. I loved the decor and the ambiance of the whole place. The building used to be a general store so the walls are all shelves and they have restaurant supplies and food storage on the shelves, as well as cool and rustic pieces and decorative items. The ceiling has this awesome metal ceiling tile covering it and it's so neat and interesting! I got the ribs and Thomas got a BBQ plate and he once again "won" in the contest for who ordered best. It's a rarity for him to win but he got me twice on Saturday. You live and you learn, right?!?! Our server was a friend of his from high school and she was so sweet and funny. We loved our dinner at Fisher & Co.!

Since we got there and ate so early, we still had some daylight and time to play after dinner before we had to start the bedtime routine. Abby got his dogs and took a walk over the hill and we all piled in the 4 wheeler to drive up there and join him over the hill. The boys couldn't stop talking about the cows and were so excited to ride in the 4 wheeler (they call it a tractor, but whatever!) and see their friends, the cows. Thomas and I just got to do a joy ride through the hills on his family land and take in the views and fresh mountain air. Can you tell that we liked this...a lot?

Check out the cows!
We all "MOOOOO"ed at them to say hi!

Family selfie in the 4 wheeler

oh hey!

Ryan on the mini John Deere after the
ride over the hill

If you look closely in the picture of Ryan above, you can just barely see a path that leads up a hill - that's where we drove the 4 wheeler on our ride.

We had a full day of fun and got the boys down to bed. I was coming down with some allergy issues and wasn't feeling all that well, so I got in bed to read my book shortly after the boys went to bed. Thomas ended up going out with Joey for some more BFF time (he would never call it that, but I would!) and beer. 

We didn't have a whole lot going on on Sunday. We decided to skip church in Tazewell so that we could get on the road a little earlier and salvage a little bit of Sunday at home to get a few things done. 

It was a great weekend, an opportunity to try some new restaurants we'd never been to, and a chance to spend some time with family and close friends. It's about a 4 to 4.5 hour drive from our house to Tazewell and is totally worth it to get up there. I wish we could go a bit more often than we do, but we like to make an effort to go during the holidays and over the summer, at a minimum. We hope to get up there for the Clemson/VT game this fall since Tazewell is not too far away from Blacksburg! TBD.... :)