Summertime feelin' fine

Once again, our blog has been neglected. Let's just say, it's pretty much impossible to keep our blog updated during school. So, now that it is summer, it's time for an update! I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore, so sometimes I wonder if it is worth updating. But, one reason for updating it is so that in 5 years, we can look back and see what life was like now, because I think sometimes we forget the little things, so here it goes!

Summer is fantastic! There is nothing better than waking up and having no obligations. We spent the first part of our summer fixing up our backyard. This included covering the 8in thick, huge, pond and building garden bed over it. We also put in a small, cute, more manageable pond with some flowers. We laid rock, a walking path, planted lilacs, an azalea, roses, peonies and much more. We also have a fire pit, rock porch (built last summer) and we laid sod. So now, our yard is bigger and more useful! We are very excited to spend our summer nights out there.... if it EVER stops raining.





Our summer has also included hikes, reading, playing guitar, hanging out with friends and family, going to Rockies games, celebrating Chris's 28th birthday and much more... and it's not even half way over!

Oh, and kind of a big deal... Chris is starting grad school! He is going back to school for Educational Leadership and will walk away with his Principal's License. The program will last 1 year, which is great. I'm very proud of him for going back!

Our greatest hope is that this summer will include a trip to Rome. My dad works for an airline, and Chris and I get to reap the benefits of that, which means $150 round trip tickets to Rome. So, we kind of figure that for that price, we have to go to one of the greatest cities in the world. So far, the flights are looking wide open, but now we just have to figure out the details and hope that the flights don't fill up. So, maybe next time we write a blog is will be about Rome... we hope!

We want to be here...



Oh, and finally, I must mention that part of the reason this summer can be enjoyed so much is the fact that I got a job! In April, I found out that my position was being cut from 100% to 30%, which was very worrisome. But then, I applied for an opening at my same school and, out of 90 people that applied, I got it! I will be teaching 6th grade geography and I couldn't be happier. I am sooooo excited!

Well, those are the big updates. We will probably write again in a few months :)

Cheers,
ang

To Travel or Not to Travel

Just some quick updates:

Well, here we are at Spring Break.... thank goodness! Time has flown by since Christmas.

Work/school has been going well. We are both very busy with coaching and teaching! Chris finished coaching basketball in February and now Ang is coaching volleyball.

The last weekend of February, we went up to Mount Princeton Hot Springs for our friend Heather's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding in a beautiful location.

Now we are on Spring Break. We were going to go somewhere warm (Orlando, Vegas, Hawaii, etc) flying standby, but the planes are so full, so we decided to stay here in Fort Collins for spring break. Our plans include: movies, going to the museum, taking walks, going out to eat, cooking yummy dinners, working in our garden (which doesn't exist yet, maybe it will at the end of this break), finishing teacher induction and maybe painting the bathroom. Who knows what else will happen.

Our spring break also includes dreaming of summer travels. The benefit of not traveling over spring break means that we will save money for an adventure over the summer.

Well, we hope everyone is enjoying the first signs of life and welcoming spring!

Merry Christmas

Well, sadly, Christmas Break is coming to an end. Back to school, back to school...

We had a great Christmas. We headed up to Craig the Monday before Christmas. We spent a lot of time making (and eating) sugar cookies, building a puzzle, reading, playing guitar and relaxing.

A highlight of our trip was going to Steamboat where we watched the Olympic Trials. It was really fun to watch those amazing athletes. Then, we watched a free Big Head Todd and the Monsters concert in Gondola Square.

Watching the Olympic Trials. It was quite a hike up the ski hill to get here :)


Dinner in Steamboat


Christmas Eve included pizza and a car ride to look at all of the Christmas lights. The car ride was a little tight (6 people and 5 dogs) but totally worth while :) Then, we played Nertz and got some knitted socks from Deb.

Beautiful, comfy socks


Christmas was a great day. We had a great breakfast and opened presents. We spent the day relaxing and then had a wonderful prime rib dinner.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas


It was also great to see Scott and Catherine who were in town from Texas, and Kristin who was in town from California. We had an Ugly Christmas sweater party, which was... well... ugly! We were also super excited when we learned that Scott and Catherine will have their first baby in July!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party


Well, that about sums up Christmas for the Bergmanns. We hope that you too had a wonderful holiday!

Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year

It is hard to believe that another year has already flown by. We rung in the new year by hanging out at the Benson's new house. We have spent the last few days helping them remodel their new home.

The list of improvements includes:
- painting: walls, floorboards, cabinets, etc
- scraping popcorn ceilings
- tearing down a wall
- inserting cabinets,
- tiling
- putting in laminate floors and carpet
- much more... phew that is a big remodel

It's sure to look great when it's all done. We're happy to be helping our new neighbors :)

Now you see it


Now you don't


With the beginning of the New Year, it's nice to look back and reflect about all of the blessings of the last one. Here are some highlights of our last year

Highlights of 2009

- New puppy Wrigley- we love him so much
- New, full-time job for Ang- very thankful to be employed
- Lot's of fun with friends and family
- Lauren and Joe got married
- Trip to Hawaii- which is where we celebrated our 3rd anniversary
- Thanksgiving in Gypsum and Glenwood
- Christmas in Craig
- Learning that Scott and Catherine are going to have a baby

All in all it was a great year!

Looking forward to in 2010

- Chris going back to school to get his Master's Degree
- Hopefully Ang will get her full-time job again for the next year (keep your fingers crossed)
- Another summer trip... hopefully
- Home improvements
- Many other fun things!

Here's to 2010 and all of the great things in store for us all!

Lots of Love

Winter Fun!

We are officially on break!!! It was a last rough week at school, but we made it and no we are home free for 2 weeks! We have already taken advantage of our time by hiking, celebrating the holidays with friends, cleaning and running errands. Tomorrow, we are going to head up to Craig and relax and enjoy family. Vacation... we love you!

Here are some pictures of the Christmas Sweater Party







Girls making Christmas cookies while boys watch the Broncos (and interfere with making Christmas cookies :)).



Hiking Horsetooth

What's new???

Hello world!

Well, here we are with 3 days left before a two week vacation. Being a teacher is a lot of work (more than you might imagine), but we are very thankful that we have a job that lets us take time off to be with family at the holidays. We have 2 weeks of vacation time waiting for us!!!

Here are some updates:

Thanksgiving:
It was awesome! We started the holiday by spending time with Ang's dad in Gypsum. We went hiking, enjoyed a great dinner and played a lot of games. It was great to see everyone! Then, we head to Glenwood to spend Thanksgiving with Ang's mom and family. We had a great dinner, played games, played football in the streets and spent quality time with family.

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to the lighting of the Hotel Colorado. We were really happy that Chris's mom and dad could make it down to celebrate! The lighting is a tradition for us... it is beautiful and gets us in the mood for Christmas.









Chris's Grandma:
Sadly, a couple days after Thanksgiving, Chris's grandma Joyce passed away. Her memorial service was a couple of days later and was a great time to get together with family and celebrate Joyce's life. She will be missed!

Getting ready for Christmas:
Would you believe that we are done Christmas shopping and have been for over 2 weeks? We decorated our house and have been doing a lot of baking and listening to Christmas music... love it!!!

Ugly Christmas sweater party:
OF COURSE! We had our second annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. It was a lot of fun to get together with friends and enjoy food and great company. This year we did a white elephant gift exchange which was...uh, er, let's just say very interesting :) Pictures will come soon.

To go to Hawaii or not to go to Hawaii:
Should we go to Hawaii for Christmas??? Chris and I both now have full flight benefits (thanks dad and Amber!!!) and a place to stay in Maui (thanks Jack and Jana). Part of us is asking "why not?" Yet another part of us feels like we should stay here the entire break. Hmmm... I guess we will have to see if there are any seats open on the airplane. We sure do love Maui though.

Well, I guess those are our updates. We are excited for Christmas and to spend the holidays with friends and family. We will be going to Craig for Christmas and can't wait!

Merry Christmas!!!

It's Always Something...

... and tonight it was vomit! Wrigley vomit that is. I was just hanging out in the living room talking with Chris and out of nowhere, Wrigley threw up. This was not just any, ordinary throw-up though. Oh no, this was black, tar-like, carpet-staining throw-up. It looks like someone poured a pint of oil on our carpet.

But, everything is ok. We were thinking that we would have to replace our carpet, but Stanley Steemer came to the rescue. They came over in a jiffy and got rid of the stain and cleaned the whole living room.

Wrigley is ok too. He went to the vet and got a complete check-up. They injected him with a shot that made him throw-up some more. He is back home (a little sad because of the rectal exam:)) and hanging in there.

So, 2 hours, $300, and an emergency vet visit later, we are right back where we started.

Life happens :)