2003 Jetta GLS overheating

Hi,
Newbie here, so bear with me.
My wife just returned from shopping, and said that the temperature indicator and a 'water' indicator showed up on her dashboard.  I know there is a red thermometer-looking indicator, but I am not aware of any low-water indicator.
Anyway, i went out to the garage and started the car.
The temperature gauge stayed at the normal 190 degree mark for about 10 minutes.  The radiator fans were not spinning either.
I then gave the car a little gas to increase the engine rpms, and I could see the temp gauge rise toward 260 degrees.  The radiator fans starting spinning at that time.
To avoid any engine damage, I shut the car off and checked the engine compartment.
I could hear gurgling noises, like the coolant was boiling.
I could not see any evident leaks, and check all cooling hoses that I could see.
I am thinking that it may be a stuck thermostat.
Any ideas or recommenations?
Is it easy to replace a thermostat on these cars?  I have some basic mechanical experience, and do not want to bring it to a shop right now, because I am unemployed at the moment.

Thanks!
 

probably the water pump
they have plastic impellers on them
with the car coold down pull the small hose to the resivor bottle off and have her start the car see if the coolant flows out of the hose
if it dosnt the pump is bad
if it does rev it up a little and see if it flows faster or stops flowing
if it stops flowing the impeller has just started to come apart

I had the same problem...it was the impeller to the water pump