It’s Friday night as Wanda Frazier carefully puts on red lip stick, getting ready for a date night with her husband John.

“Getting ready is for a date is almost as fun as the date,” she said.

Wanda looks forward to the night out.

“Dates get us out of the house,” she said.

And they remind the couple they are more than two adults raising 14 and 17 year old daughters.

“Out of the rut of day to day family life,” Wanda said.

“We don't have to worry about laundry, we don't have to worry about paying bills," she said.

This night they're going to a wine and cheese auction to benefit the Boys Club in Portland.

"We’ve never been before--so I don't know what to expect," said Wanda.

John and Wanda are doing what some brain researchers are now recommending---planning date nights with new experiences.

More: Date night story from NY Times

"Okay...I’ve got tickets. Bye guys! Bye girls! Love you!” they holler on the way out the door.

Researchers say new events activate the brain's reward system---flooding it with the same chemicals that are present during early romantic love.

“We're always trying to branch out and try something new,” Wanda said.

They wander through the auction, bidding on items and sipping wine samples.

John holds up a tooth pick with a cheese square. Wanda takes a bite.

John and Wanda married 24 years ago.

"We've been married 24 years because we try to make time to go for dates. He's actually fun to be with" she said laughing with John.

Marriage counselor Sher Ireland agrees.

Sher Ireland web site

"Date night is something that can help keep the friendship alive," Ireland said.

She’s spent 34 years teaching couples how to stay together at her "A Beautiful Marriage" learning center in Tigard, Oregon.

She says date nights are priceless.

“If the quality of the friendship is good,” Ireland said, “its like money in the bank. So you can take a withdrawal every once in awhile without destroying the bank account,” said Ireland.

John and Wanda have found that to be true.

“It give us something to talk about during the rest of the week and the next thing to look forward to,” said John.

“It keeps building on shared experiences. Its good," he said.

Wanda agrees. With her arm around her husband, she said, “it makes me feel closer to John.”

“It gives me an emotional lift for us to go out and I remember those days back when we were dating before we were married,” said Wanda. “Its more care free,” she said.

“Its more relaxed."