Pants and Chuck

pants and chuck are the head of the family so it seems an appropriate place to start. pants, being the mother, is the one who makes sure this family doesn’t get out of order too often. she’s the one who cooks all of that food we like, drove us to practices, made all of our friends feel like family, hosted the tailgates, and pretty much does everything she can to make us happy. she’s the perfect example of what a mother should be. and we all know that can’t be easy with four kids. she has been the lucky charm for the amato family since she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the fall of 2006. it takes a truly amazing person to fight such a disease everyday with the strength and courage she has.

chuck is the old man. you may remember him as mikey, jack, willy, or several other alias’. that’s because he changes his name every year to honor someone who has meant a lot to him over the years. chuck is known for making the best stove popcorn ever, baking at least one rum cake per week (i wish he’d save at least one delicious quarter for me one of these days), grows his own rhubarb, gave us the great idea of starting a lawn care business, answers the phone in french, and has helped us get out of trouble on several occasions. combined they form quite the duo.

fun pants posts: the gospel according to pants pt 1, the gospel according according to pants pt 2, nancy pants bday, mancy’s for nancy, panc the wank, pants party, legends never die.

fun chuck posts: chuck and aaron taylor sitting in a tree, yum, no more mikey, the ultimate networker.

DR

DR is one of juplife’s most frequent characters. daniel richard changed his name to dr when he went off to college so i’ll refer to him as dr more than dan or danny. but be prepared for any of them. you’ll often find him in silly pictures (or logsdons as we call them) like the one above, competing in triathlons, as copilot on our many road trips, and generally being not quite as sweet as me.

dr’s infrequent blog: coopsterdog.blogspot.com

fun dr posts: his first half, road trips, new orleans!, zaaaa happyness.

Pat is the luckiest kid i know. famous for being on elimindate, things always seem to go pat’s way. however, it must be said that pat makes things go that way. he’s always the one planning events, vacations, and triathlons. if it wasn’t for him, most of his friends would be without their yearly vacation. he has the most incredible blue eyes and undeniable smile. two reasons people always love to be around him.

fun pat posts: we’re brothers!, froggy, surprise surprise, usc games, bun run, the bearded lady.

KT

Katie is the sister everyone wishes they had. one reason that i’m afraid of chicks is that kt gets along with so few of them. and if they aren’t cool enough to like kt, they certainly aren’t worth my time. kt makes us all better by reminding us to have fun. have fun by washing windows for mad cash, visiting kat’s bar for delicious jello shots, writing letters to her amazing 2nd grade class, making faces in my photos, organizing our nights out, sleeping on the couch so we can watch tv all night, and mostly putting up with three idiot brothers.

fun kat posts: goula goula goula, grool, you’re so pretty, kt invasion, kt’s class, bday, dear kt, kt loves moo-moos.

Nate

Uncle Nathan holds the key to my heart. he is my best man.

nate and jack blog: nathanweaver.blogspot.com

we’ve had a lot of good times: defined, videos of nate, he loves missing flights, nate comes to town chaos ensues, we’ve lived in europe at the same time, it was awesome.

Cooper Amato, Purebred Champion

Coop is the best dog ever. i will not argue that point. nor will i entertain the idea of ever loving another dog. for those new to this site, coop died on jan 23, 2007. mark it on your calendars. it’s a national holiday. it was the worst day of my life. coop lived with us for 15 years. santa brought him to us on christmas eve in 1993. i became rather attached to coop since moving back home. we did all sorts of sweet stuff together, like hang out, lay, relax, and mange. coop is famous for drinking code red, sleeping over at zahm house, eating the trash, and never getting full.

everything about coop is good: videos, photos, facebook coop, he’s sneaky, he’s so pretty.

Annie

annie and i met when i lived in denver with the lorenz’s for a summer. i think it would have been hard for anyone to predict how close we would become in such a short time. annie is the best chick i know. she’s the one that calls you to go hit golf balls or play tennis, laughs when hurricane pat knocks over her bookcase/room divider, lets 7 randoms stay at her place for a weekend, takes you to a bar cause it serves natty pounders or free pizza, laughs at all of the jokes in bio dome with you before they happen, and deserves to be the center of your attention at all times. annie has the most amazing capacity to love and never fails to show you in every way possible. i wish i could spend more time near her.

it’s alway fun with annie: nyc trip ‘07, she does more than call me at work, we like to watch movies together.

Gym

Gym and i have been fast friends ever since 7th grade. he’s the one who is responsible for teaching me how to laugh and that it’s ok to get in trouble sometimes. believe it or not, i was actually really quiet and shy before i met him. being forced to sit next to him for a full semester because i apparently contained his behavior is one of the best things that ever happened to me. a jupiter pro lawn care employee from the beginning, gym’s a true american hero who has served two tours in iraq and, fortunately for all of us, maintained his sense of humor and contagious attitude throughout.

gym’s way fun: soup sangwich, the iraq, the gymboree, captain america, farewell gym, hott hott hott.

Coach Bragg

Coach josh bragg is basically a part of the amato family. he’s been pat’s best bud every since he moved to perrysburg back in grade school. we call him coach because he’s served as tennis coach for dr and me, and was dr’s basketball coach as well. believe it or not, he doesn’t like it when i take photos of him and post them online. i think he’s learned that it only encourages me to do it more often. when josh was younger he was actually quite svelte. he’s currently on a strict diet to regain those former days, but we might even love him more as he is now. sadly, josh moved out of perrysburg and is living in baltimore now. that doesn’t stop him from googling “coach bragg” on a weekly basis only to arrive at juplife. he’s also come up with some great new schemes to finally find his soul mate. his most famous quote is that he’s going to die of obesity or liver failure. i think both are good plans.

fun coach bragg posts: coach bragg recommends, i will miss coach bragg, his calvin klein ad, strictly business.

The Pozes

The pozes and amato’s have a long family history. chuck and the edge went to notre dame together and pants, donna went to st. ursula together, and beth and pat and meg and me were in the same class at strose. we also lived a few streets apart in three meadows in perrysburg. the only reason we forgive them for moving is because they have a pool at their new house that has a high dive. best. ever. as a family they probably visit juplife more than any group besides my own family.

the edge is famous for his ability to consume mass amounts of food. we regularly attend state and local fairs just to eat. d makes the best desserts known to man. my favorites being her apple cake and peanut butter brownies. kate, the oldest, ruined the order of the poz/amato kinship by marrying someone other than dr. beth is the blog idea coordinator. something she fell into after living in the wastelands of south bend and kalamazoo. meg is doing her best to relocate to the warmth of the south (one reason she had to be photoshopped into the family photo) and going on amazing dates.

the pozes could really be considered my second family. i actually had a picture of the edge and d in my room freshmen year that many people mistook as my parents. they always have one of the best tailgates at ND games, prevent me from being hungry with shipments of wardynski’s, desserts, chips and salsa, and paczki’s, understand my weird behavior, and keep me informed on all of the greatest movies like snakes on a plane.

the pozes supply the fun: the edge is a dancing machine, the fair, minster, marge, the pool, swim team, kate the dd, beth also likes carbs.

Dywuan

dywuan is my little brother through the big brothers big sisters program. we’ve been paired up since october 2006. he was originally in my dad’s kids unlimited program. he became pretty attached to katie so i assumed he’d be a fun match. i should have known that dad and sister would put me where i could make the biggest difference. dywuan is alternately the best and most challenging kid ever. he is so talented and has so much potential. he does well in school, is a great athlete and loves his family so much. he has been making great strides recently and i’ve definitely noticed a positive change in him and in our relationship. i enjoy being his big brother and i’m excited about watching him grow.

dywuan is bloggable: his best photo set, at the sfs funarama, on the drums, he loved macqueens orchard, and nickel world is his favorite place.

Phillip Yves Cubbon