Pine Island, Outerbanks. 2007

Since 1997 the Cook family has made it a priority to spend time as a family away from the routines that consume the other 358 days of our lives. The location has always been the Outerbanks of North Carolina but the location within the Outerbanks has changed almost every year.

I was 13 years old the first year all 18 of us traveled from Ohio to North Carolina. We stayed in Nags head and rented an 'oceanview' home. That was the only year we didn't rent ocean front.

Most of the homes are owned by families but rented through a variety of realty companies. All of the homes have names and the home featured in this post is called "Absolute Ambiance" and is located in Pine Island .

This was by far my favorite house we've stayed in (My grandma wouldn't agree). It was very modern and the interior was stunning. (My grandma prefers rentals with a look-and-feel of a beach cottage). This year was also special because it was the first year my wife joined us. We were only dating at the time but we knew that if she could survive a week with the entire cook famliy in one house, she could handle anything :) For More Photos and Rental information, Check out the rental Page: Absolute Ambiance

Here is the tour:

Home Sweet Home.

It's hard to believe it has already been a month since August 15th! (...which means it's already the middle of September? yikes!)

I took a small break from blogging but am now ready to get back into the full swing of things. There are a few exciting things happening with the blog. I'm pleased to announce that you will not only be viewing posts from jcook -- but also from mcook. We're going mix things up a little bit...It could get interesting.

We're finally starting to feel settled in our new home so we plan on sharing some of our before/after shots of the townhouse. Stay posted....