Viva Las Vegas!

Merry Christmas to All!

Well, we are back from our fun-filled Christmas trip to Las Vegas (which brought new meaning to the words 'Christmas Lights') . We had a great time, even if we did come back with thinner wallets. Yes, that is right people, we WERE NOT lucky in Vegas. But, you know what they say, Vegas wasn't built on people winning.

We got to Sin City on the 22nd and were there through the 26th. So, for those of you who are interested, here is how the trip went down:


The 22nd:
We arrived at the airport and made our way to the hotel (in an overpriced taxi mind you). We stayed at the Flamingo Hilton on the strip. We got there at about 5:00 p.m., but the rest of the Bergmann clan didn't get there until 1:00 a.m. from Craig. So, we hit up video poker while we waited for everyone to arrive. We also went to the Bellagio to look at the beautiful Christmas decorations and watch the fountains.

Ang with the 'not so traditional' Christmas Lights of Las Vegas!

The Fountains at the Bellagio

Christmas Tree at the Bellagio

The 23rd:
We started the day out by going to the grocery store. Since we had a kitchen, we figured that we might as well save some money for gambling and cook breakfast and lunch in the room. Then, the boys went golfing at Tuscany Golf Course. Can you believe it...golf in December!!! They had a beautiful day for golfing, which was fortunate because the rest of the trip was cold. While they were golfing, the girls lounged and walked up and down the strip. Then, we all met back up and went out to eat at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. It was food and entertainment all rolled into one. Then, we went gambling again, which turned out to be kind of a disaster. Ang had turned $50 into $110 playing video blackjack, but then lost it ALL! And Chris was on somewhat of a losing streak after winning $400 last time he visited Vegas. Oh well, it was fun. Then we went to a bar for a little bit. When we went back to the room, Chris and Ang went to the hot tub in the Flamingo pool grounds (beautiful). It felt good to relax a little after a day of tons of walking.

Nice Swing Chris!!


Chris and Dad (Look how green in December)

Chris and Joe on the scenic 18th green

Lauren and Ang with the "Big Ritas"

"Wastin' away again in Margaritaville"

The 24th- Christmas Eve:
This was a Take-It-Easy kind of a day. We had a slow start, but did make it out to wander the Strip for a little bit. We had dinner at the Flamingo Buffet, and then headed to the MGM Grand for a Cirque Du Soleil show: Ka. It was an amazing show with a ton of special effects and so much to see. It was perfect for Christmas Eve.

Great Vegas Show!

Chris and Ang in front of the Venetian



Chris really hits his stride playing the piano in the lobby of our hotel bringing Christmas cheer to all :)

The 25th- Christmas Day:
It wasn't your traditional Christmas, but it was a lot of fun and nice to get away. We started the day with stockings and celebration. Then we headed to a Brunch Buffet at Harrahs. While at Harrahs, we sat down and the Blackjack table, where Joe won $70! After that, we took it easy for a little bit and then went to a movie. We saw Slumdog Millionaire, which is a great movie... we highly recommend it! After that, we went back to the room and ate in. Then, we headed back to the Bellagio to look at the beautiful Christmas Decor. After that, we went out and gambled some more. We also got to meet up with Matt Kruse and his girlfriend Kelsey. How ironic that they were in Vegas the exact dates that we were! Merry Christmas!!!

The Fam at the Bellagio- Merry Christmas!


Chris and Ang- Bellagio


It wouldn't be Christmas without stockings. But only in Vegas would you find a HUGE Henikein bottle next to Christmas stockings :)

Christmas Morning- check out the view out the window

The 26th:
Time to go home. Chris and Ang had and easy flight home, because they got to fly right into Fort Collins! The rest of the fam...not so much. They flew into Junction at about 9:00 and then had to drive 3 hours in the snow. It was worth it though! We had a great trip!

2 Below and another Manic Monday

No, not 2 Below the New Belgium seasonal beer... That is how cold it was today. And last night, it got down to -17 degrees! How exciting. It is the kind of cold where, when you go outside, your nostrils stick together. At least this year, Ang doesn't have to shovel snow for CSU grounds. Those 3am wakeup calls tend to get pretty tedious.

Where oh where shall we begin about today? How about when we let Tucker outside this morning and he couldn't even walk back to the back door because his toes were frozen together. Or, how about the fact that we had to leave the animals inside today so that we wouldn't get cited for animal cruelty. Or, how about that BECAUSE the animals were inside all day, Angela came home to a crazy mess (they went stir crazy). Please read the poem that Ang sent Chris today:


An ode to my entrance into our home:

Twas the day after the weekend
When all through the home
All the animals were restless because of the freezing storm
The brownies were flung and munched into
making them un-edible for me and you
The cats scurried making the carpets twist
and the silver tinsel all over the floor couldn't be missed
The cotton from Tucker's bone added to the frenzy
And the place mats weren't on the table, where they should be A towel was strung across the living room floor and the chairs on the couches aren't working anymore How I wish it wasn't two below So the animals could play outside I guess I should be thankful that the tree is still upright! Have fun at basketball! Love you

They seem innocent here...

Yes, oh yes, it has been a crazy day. But wait... there's more!

Today, at around 9:15, Ang got to take 50 junior high students to the nursing home where they sang Christmas carols to the resident's there. While it was fun, it was quite tiring. Meanwhile, at Kinard, Chris was forcing kids to run on the first day of basketball tryouts. At least he only has to cut 10 kids instead of 30 this year. What a Monday!

Is it a coincidence that both generations shown in the above picture of Angela's trip to the nursing home have trouble with bladder control?

Then, FINALLY, after an oh so interesting day, Ang got to come home and relax. She put on her sweats, grabbed and snack, and turned up the heat to try and get warm. Everything was going perfect until the electricty went out. No lights, no heat for the entire neighborhood...for almost 3 hours. It would have been wonderful, what with doing homework and reading by candlelight, except for the extreme cold! Not to mention, she was all alone while Chris was at basketball. Oh, and she couldn't leave because the garage door wouldn't open. Awesome! You can imagine Ang with her headlamp on trying to start a fire with no wood an old election ballot, some bark from the tree and a box of matches in the dark. If it wasn't so dark in the house, she could have definitely been able to see her own breath. Chris got home with some firewood just in time for the electricity to come on.

Angela's Survival Skills In Action
(very versatile for having no proper supplies)

But, alas, now it is 7:30, the electricty is back on, the heat is running, the animals have calmed down, the pipes didn't freeze and we are already thinking about going to bed! Only 4 more days until Christmas break and a nice cold 2 Below (the beer this time).

This is our beautiful Christmas home when the electricity is on :)

Cheers~

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

And boy was it ugly!

This weekend, we hosted an Ugly Christmas sweater party. It was a night full of friends, food, drink and ugly sweaters. I will let the pictures explain... a picture is worth a thousand words.

World Class Rock

Well, it has been a week or so since we have blogged, and that is because there is really nothing too interesting to share with everyone. But, it is Sunday night, I am planned for school tomorrow and I am waiting for laundry, so why not?

Music has been the theme of the week. On Wednesday, Chris got online and scored us tickets to the Fray at the Gothic theater (while he was supposed to be teaching mind you). Anyway, it promises to be a great show and we are excited.

Then, yesterday, we got up at 7:00 a.m., grabbed a cup o' joe and headed to ultimate electronics to stand in line for 2 hours. Why, you might ask, did we do this? To get a CD of course. But this is not just any CD. This is the 20th edition of the KBCO Studio C CD. For those of you who don't know what this is, let me assure you, it is worth waiting 2 hours in the freezing cold to get your hands on this CD. Every year, world class artists come to the KBCO Studio in Boulder to record unique, live songs. Then, the studio puts them on a CD, sells them and uses the money for AIDS relief. Pretty cool huh? Last year, I waited in line alone to get Chris the CD as a gift; this year I made him go with me. This years CD includes: Colbi Caillat, Jason Mraz, Marc Cohn and many more. AND, Chris knows someone who was able to get us all of the KBCO Studio C albums so now we have some awesome music to jam to! We think it's pretty cool.

On another music note, I am now one week away from taking 2 of my French classes to the Columbine Health Center, where they will sing Christmas carols in French to the elderly. They will then get a chance to visit with the residents and chat. I will be the first to admit that the kids don't sound the best when singing the songs, but it is not as bad as you would thing AND we have a whole week to practice. But, they are really excited and I think it is a great way to learn. I will let you know how it turns out!

Well, I guess that is it for now. Maybe there will be something more exciting to post at another point in time. Have a great week!

Driving Drives Us Nuts!

Above you see a beautiful sunset over HWY 287 adding to the peaceful drive through the Poudre Canyon on the way to Craig CO. to start our Thanksgiving break. We always love to drive these back highways. It's always so pretty and so relaxing. It gives us a chance to breathe, reflect, and catchup with each other...

However, the rest of our driving was NUTS!! Below you will see a picture of the sheep blocking our way on HWY 13 between Craig and Glenwood. What a funny turn of events!...

The sheep proved to be only the beginning of a crazy driving week. After our great vacation, we left Glenwood Springs at about 11:00 a.m., thinking that we would get back by about 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. Boy were we wrong! Instead, what was supposed to be a 3-4 hour drive turned into an 8 1/2 hour drive because of weather and traffic. LONGEST DRIVE EVER!! We got to thinking, where else could we have driven in his amount of time? At least gas was cheap :) Our patience was tested, but thank goodness for i-pods, laptop computers and Disney Movies. It took us 1:45 to get from Silverthorne to the tunnel. Total trip: 11:00am - 7:30pm. We are just glad to be back now!

AT LEAST GAS WAS CHEAP IN FORT COLLINS!! :)

Thanksgiving Travels Lead to Christmas Spirit

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We had a great Thanksgiving filled with family and fun! We made the yearly Fort Collins, Poudre Canyon, Hwy 13, I-70 loop. Yes... there was a lot of driving!

While we were in Craig, we celebrated Lauren and Joe's engagement. We're losing a Bergmann, but gaining two Padons. Congratulation you guys!

We then headed down to Glenwood (on our way, we were slowed down by a pack of sheep on the highway). We had a great Thanksgiving meal and played a lot of games and poker and spent lots of good time with family.

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to the annual Hotel Colorado lighting. It is always a fun night with hot chocolate, craft fairs, fireworks and Christmas lights. This is the 3rd year in a row that we have gone to the lighting, and it never fails to get us in the mood for Christmas.

All in all it was a great Thanksgiving with lots of family, food and fun!

New Blog!

Hey All! (probably not too many people:)

It's the Fort Collins Bergmann's just starting to get into the whole blog scene. We will be writing more through this holiday season.

Cheers
Chris & Ang