Be careful not to sell yourself short, you'll be surprised how addicting it becomes
My wife and I started riding about 6 months ago. Our style and needs seem similar to yours. We bought hybrid bikes (A Giant Cypress for her and a GT Nomad for me). after a few months we realized that they were way to heavy for anything other than short commutes or really flat trails. We looked around and I decided on the Jamis Satellite that I have had for a few weeks now and I love. I changed the tires to Gator Skins 28's that I bought for the Hybrid. They are a little wider than the stock tires it comes with, but more comfortable.
My wife is still deciding whether to go with the womans version or a flat bar (She has joint problems).