valentine's surprise

I meant to post this earlier, but wanted to give a shout out to my hubby, Chad & Ryan for planning a very, very special evening for their wives. Last Saturday we all went on a surprise Valentine's date together to Old Washington, AR. Here are some of the highlights:
1. Being surprised! Not having to plan anything! Being wooed & romanced by our husbands was a treat in and of itself. :-) I LOVE going on dates.
2. A really beautiful sunset drive through the rolling hills of SW Arkansas. It's my favorite time of day to drive and the scenery was really, really beautiful.
3. Experiencing the booming metropolis of Old Washington, the once-capital of AR during the Civil War. Not much has changed in the town since then, in case you were wondering. But a lot of neat, colonial style homes are still being used and make for a classy, nostalgic-type atmosphere.
4. Taking a carriage ride down a quaint dirt path, and for a moment pretending like I was Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice, the scene where Mr. Darcy touches her hand for the first time when he helped into her carriage- AWESOME. Have always wanted to re-live that myself.
5. DELICIOUS home-style cookin...which included a bottomless basket of salad crackers (our appetizer for a good 30 minutes until the other people were done with their carriage ride), salad, potato soup, prime rib/ cornish hen, homemade rolls, corn souffle, tiramisu & strawberry earthquake cake. And homemade grape juice from an AR vineyard- delightful.
6. Being serenaded by an elderly female violinist, who played age-old romantic classics like Take Me Out to the Ballgame and Oh Susannah.
7. Getting to spend a whole evening without kids and with quality people like the Gallagher's and the Daniels' was really fun. We are really thankful for their friendship.