We are all familiar with Steven’s Football career, and some of you know about his brief stint on Marshall’s varsity Basketball team. Now Steven is completing his trifecta by competing on Marshall’s Varsity Track Team. His strong events are the 100m, 200m and 4 by 100m relay. He also does Shot Put, but it’s not his strength (literally). It’s actually quite amazing to see Steven running so fast. In the race depicted by the photo below, Steven actually placed 1st. Not bad Asthma Boy!
After 11 years and 105,000 challenging miles, we decided to say goodbye to our family truckster- a 1999 Ford Expedition XLT. This was a really hard decision, but the miles started to take their toll. The squeaks and rattles were getting louder and louder, the door locks and lights had a mind of their own, and much of the trim was in need of replacing. We certainly could have kept the truck as the engine and transmission were still running strong- but the cost of gas in a big V8 truck didn’t make much sense anymore. The Expedition got us through many Merino Madness camping trips (including some off-road excursions I will never forget), and helped us schlep our three boys around while keeping them beyond arm’s reach- the main reason we chose this truck in the first place. 
Now that we didn’t need the rough and tumble kind of vehicle, we decided to go for a more car-like option while keeping the seating capacity as high as possible. There are several of these types of vehicles out there in the sub-luxury price range: Mazda CX-9, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, and Ford Flex, just to name a few. We chose the Mazda for several reasons, but most importantly was the 0% financing for 60 months, plus the below invoice pricing we were able to get. Besides the incredible value, the Mazda really was the most balanced vehicle out there. It wasn’t quite as big as the Chevy and GMC, but it felt just as roomy inside. It was much roomier than Honda, Toyota and Ford, and it had them all beat when it comes to the ride quality and fit and finish. Surprisingly, it was the least expensive when comparing apples to apples. Of course, I spent upwards of 40 hours researching all of my options, and most car magazines (print and online) agreed that the Mazda CX-9 is the best 7-passenger crossover out there. Christy liked the Mazda the best in terms of style and design, and the kids all voted the Mazda the car they most wanted to be seen in (a very important criteria).
This President’s Day/Valentine’s Day Weekend, Christy and I decided to tackle remodeling our decrepit bathroom. After years of putting the project off, we finally said enough was enough. With a limited budget and a short timeframe, we decided to forego the complete remodel and try to salvage what we could. The tub and toilet are still in good shape, but the floor, sink, lighting fixtures, cabinets, and towel racks had to go. Plus, the main reason we needed to redo the bathroom was the chronic mildew issue that required us to bleach the walls and ceiling every 2 weeks. Not a fun task.
We started tearing down on Thursday night and finished final trim work on Monday night. Christy spent 3 full days in the bathroom sanding, painting, and laying floor tiles. I only had Saturday and Sunday to work, so my tasks were limited to plumbing and electrical, plus installing the cabinets and lights.
The only hiccup we had was the closet flange which holds the toilet to the floor. Our old flange was rusted and the concrete floor around it was broken up and unstable. I tried to patch the floor with a concrete patch compound, but after two days, it failed to set as it was mainly meant to be used to fill cracks, not holes. I dug it up and used a quick-dry cement and was able to secure a new flange to a rock-solid floor in a couple of hours.
All in all, we are ecstatic about the new bathroom. We love the new sink and floors and the walls and ceiling are now coated with a mildew-resistant primer and paint by Zinsser (supposedly the best on the market). We are hoping to never have to bleach those walls again!
For more pictures from the project, click here.
We all know that David is the aspiring actor in the family, but did you know that Steven could channel his charismatic persona into a theatrical performance? Neither did we…
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(Steven is on for the first 7 minutes.)
It’s always great to see a family member recognized for their talent or hard work. We’ve been lucky enough to experience our own kids get their fair share of recognition- whether it’s Steven with his football games, Mark with his soccer, or David with his theater… as parents, we are easily impressed. It’s not too often an adult family member gets to take a bit of the spotlight.
Today, we were fortunate enough to experience a bit of celebrity shining right from within our own family. Christy’s uncle, Oscar Castillo, is a seasoned photographer who has been behind the camera’s lens for decades- whether it’s capturing candid moments at family gatherings- or powerful moments in Chicano history, it’s very rare to see Oscar without a camera. Last year, UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center offered to digitize over 5,000 of Oscar’s anthropological photos taken from the 1960′s, 70′s and 80′s throughout Los Angeles- depicting the cultural relevance of the Chicano movement. For the past several months, The Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture in Downtown Los Angeles has been showcasing a glimpse of the world as seen through Oscar’s eyes. We were lucky enough to get a personal tour of the exhibit by the legend himself- Oscar Castillo.
As much as I’ve liked having control over my own online photo gallery hosted on my own site, due to stupid restrictions by most web-hosting companies that now limit the number of files you can host- even with so-called “unlimited” hosting programs, I have decided to move my pictures over to a photo-sharing website- Flickr.com.
Flickr.com offers a truly unlimited account for only $25 a year- significantly less than most other photo-sharing websites. Plus, Flickr.com allows you to easily group and share you photos, and is partnered with www.snapfish.com- our favorite choice for photo printing services. You can easily browse our family photos by year and month, select photos you like, and either download them or order prints directly from the site.
Simply select the “Merino Family Pics” link from the header or sidebar of the site and you will be taken directly to our Flickr photostream.
You’ll also notice that a random selection of pictures appear on the sidebar. Those pictures also link directly to our Flickr photostream.
Please post a comment to let me know what you think of the change!
HAVE FUN!!!
Shamir Merino
Steven’s new favorite Laker is number 12, Shannon Brown- arguably one of the most exciting players to watch on the squad. He is known for his gynourmous vertical leap and his ability to slam the ball with authority. Here is a photo-chopped representation of what Steven would look like if he had Shannon Brown’s Skills:
Steven has started a trend at Marshall Fundamental High School by “Shannon Brown-ing” his fellow peers. He starts the ritual by walking up behind the sometimes unsuspecting victim and stating- “Guess Who’s Checked into the Game…”, followed by his leapfrogging the fully erect individual while screaming “SSSSHHHHAAANNNOOONNNNN BBBRRROOOOWWWNNN!!!!!!!” with one hand in the air grasping an imaginary basketball.
Here is Steven demonstrating the ritual to the family on Thanksgiving:
And now, video proof has surfaced as Steven “Shannon Browns” 3 classmates at the SAME TIME!!!
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The fat lady has sung… the jersey has been hung for the last time in Steven’s 4-year football career. This year has been fairly successful for Steven. He got his first touchdown, two-point conversion, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery, and onside kick recovery, all in one season. A season that also saw a 4-year losing streak snapped- an experience we will never forget.
Here is a short video snapshot of Steven’s career:
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Last week, David took the stage at the beautiful San Gabriel Civic Auditorium as one of Joseph’s brother’s in CTE’s production of the Broadway biblical hit- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This was David’s first lead role with the CTE theater group and boy did he make the most of it! His role was Judah, also known as the Calypso Brother, who tries to convince Joseph to spare his wrath against another of the brothers by serenading him with a colorfully sultry song and dance:
Not only did David have the spotlight for the Calypso number, he was also given a solo curtain call during the Mega Mix at the end of the show:
The amazing thing about David’s performance was the fact that the morning of the show, he came down with the flu and performed with a 103-degree temperature, a sore throat, and a chest infection! But being the consummate professional that he is, no one could tell. We’re hoping that David’s performance caught the attention of the producer and director as much as it did the audience. The next CTE show is High School Musical, and we can’t wait to see more of him in the spotlight!
Click here to see more pictures from the show!
Shamir Merino
Well, it finally happened… Steven got his…
It’s only taken four years of blood sweat and tears, but the payoff was worth it.
I’ll let the video speak for itself:
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Shamir Merino
