MAY 2024

May was JAM PACKED with BIG life events!! The first is going to be a HUGE shock since there's been no foreshadowing of this (and no mention of a girl) but POW! BEN GOT MARRIED!! Yes! I'm being serious! It still has all of our heads spinning! So let me introduce you to his amazing wife, Sara James! Back in February, our Stake and Ward boundaries got realigned. I was serving in the RS Presidency and we were making visits to the new families that were now in our ward. That particular evening, our appointment was with the James' family. They had 2 adult daughters (Sara who was 22 and Kayla who was 19). As we chatted with everyone, I kept learning of little tidbits about Sara and kept thinking how she had so many of the same interests as Ben! Additionally, she had made mention a couple of times how she was looking for that special someone. As we were getting up to leave, the Spirit whispered to my heart "Ask her if you can pass along her information to Ben!" and I was like "No way! That's weird and I'm here with the whole RS Presidency AND her entire family!" So we got up to leave and made our way to the door. With each step, the Spirit was getting louder and louder - "Ask to pass her info along to Ben!" and so with the door just a step away, I turned and said "Twice now, you've mentioned that you were open to dating and looking for someone. I happen to have two single endowed sons if you'd like me to pass along your information..." Honestly, I think this surprised Sara because she hesitated and didn't know quite what to say so of course she asked to see some pictures! In my heart, I KNEW she was the perfect girl for Ben so only showed her a picture of Ben - hahaha... Anyway, I came home and called Ben who was a work and the conversation went something like this:

Mom: What if I told you that I just met a girl that I think you'd get along with?

Ben: Yes (said in a slow, hesitant voice)

Mom: And she is active in the church

Ben: Yes...

Mom: And she is endowed

Ben: Yes 

Mom: And she like Video Games

Ben: Yes (getting a little more enthusiastic with each statement mom tells him)

Ben: What's her favorite one?

Mom: (I tell him but I can't remember what it was now - ooops)

Ben: NO WAY!!! That's one of my favorites!

Mom: And she like Horror!

Ben: YES!!

Mom: And she's into Asian Cultures

Ben: YES!! Give me her number right now! I'm going to text her!

Mom: Well, hold on! I just barely left her house like 5 minutes ago

Ben: I don't care! I'm contacting her right now!

Mom: Ok.... I guess just tell her that you're Sister Vogt's son and I gave you her number...

Ben immediately texts Sara and then.... nothing. She doesn't reply for 2 days (which was excruciating for Ben to wait for!). Things started off slowly and they communicated via text (once a day or once every other day...) and after a bit they decided to meet on Discord and play some video games together. Ben was super hyped about this and that encounter went super well and they gamed for like 7 hours! Another week or two after that, he went over to her house for a movie night which ended up being a 12 hour "get together" (as it's wasn't a "date")... They got along great and enjoyed each others company but it wasn't until Kayla left to BYUI (in mid April) that they had their first "alone" time and went on a "not date" to dinner and a movie. After that, things progressed SUPER FAST! 2 weeks later they were engaged with a wedding date set for Halloween. That only lasted a few days as on May 8th they called me and the conversation went like this:

Ben and Sara: What would you say if we moved up the wedding date and told you we were going to get married at the end of the month?

Mom: The end of THIS month? May?!

Ben: Yes

Mom: I'd say that's not enough time to throw together a reception and get out invitations and have time for family get here!

Ben: Well, what if we just get married at the court house and then we could have a temple ceremony and reception at the end of June to give enough time for everything.

Mom: Well...I guess that would work

(after a bit more dialogue)

Ben and Sara: Ok, then we're just going to get married next week!

Mom: Well hold on! Dad and I won't even be here - we'll be in Wisconsin for the Rugby National Championships!

Ben: Alright, we'll get married the next weekend then...

And that's how their relationship went from 0-100 within a matter of weeks! After sleeping on that decision (getting married in the courthouse) they decided that the Temple was too important (and a goal for both of them!) so they decided to get married in the Meridian Temple on May 25th and then have a reception at the end of June - and that's just what we did! It was a beautiful affair and grandma and grandpa Carlson were able to fly out and be a part of everything and Uncle JR, Lori, Ada and Anders also made the LONG trek to be here for the Sealing! After the Temple, we had everyone back to the church where we put on a dinner (a salad and pasta bar with fruits, breadsticks and dessert). We transformed the RS room and it was a great atmosphere and everyone enjoyed themselves!

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The Meridian Girls' Rugby Team headed off to High School National Championships on May 17th. Aubrie and Lexi (and the whole entire team!) did A LOT of fund raising. Each girl had to personally raise $1,100 to attend! Since dad was one of the coaches he says he's going to do a big write up about it - which may or may not happen... so in case it doesn't happen, here's the highlight: We came as an unknown/unranked team and left with THIRD PLACE! IN THE NATION! It was definitely a highlight!

Dad has been writing down an in-depth review of the tournament and here is Part 1:

The seed for competing in the national championship tournament was planted in May of 2023 after Rocky Mountain had placed second. Eagle had finished fifth that tournament after finishing third the year before. Rocky coach, and buddy, Chris Kovac had encouraged us to enter the tournament stating that they had a Tier II division in the tournament and that he thought we could win it.

The previous 15's season had been a disaster. We had plenty of talent but the girls did not believe in themselves and were head cases quite often. We would be ahead at half time only to have one play go bad and they would hang their heads and proceed to get blown out. Several of those girls had graduated and there was hope that the girls could believe in themselves and play up to their potential.

I pitched the idea to everyone and sold them on the fact that we would be playing Tier II and would be very competitive. All of the players, coaching staff, and parents bought in and agreed to commit. We applied for entrance into the tournament and were accepted.

We then began the task of fundraising, which was a pain. Each girl would have to raise $1,100 each. We were also counting on some overages to help cover the coaches and some of the moms that were travelling to support the team. The girls did calendar fundraisers and sold raffle tickets for an AR-15 that we purchased as a club. It was tiresome staying on them and their parents but eventually, we got it done.

Meanwhile, we were doing quite well in our season. We started off playing old time foe and sister school, Mountain View, and after a somewhat close match, beat them 64-12. This was a huge confidence builder as we thought the game would be very close. A 54-5 shellacking of Owyhee followed along with a 73-15 beat down of Emmett. We had entered into the easy portion of our season which saw us dispatch Timberline 116-5 and Boise/Capital 104-10. 

We then came to the murderer's row portion with back to back games against the two best teams in the state, if not the country - Rocky and Eagle. We had watched the two teams play and thought we might have a shot. In a game that was actually quite close, we lost to Rocky 48-29. We played very close but in classic Meridian fashion, the second half was not our friend. The next week, our heads were not in the game and I believe that we were mentally beaten before we even stepped onto the pitch. Eagle slaughtered us 66-7. We ended the regular season 5-2 and looked to square off again against Rocky in the playoffs.

For a while, I had felt that our offensive scheme was way too predictable and one dimensional. I had tried to institute a hybrid 1-3-3-1 offense at the beginning of the season but our backs and our backs coach, Jace - were resistant to change. They didn't support it because it was different than what they were used to. After two losses in a row, Jace and I had a heart to heart and he agreed that we needed to do something different. Building off of the strengths that our team had, we devised a new 3-2-3 offense that capitalized on the sheer power and force that our forwards possessed and had our backs utilizing the space that was created from the new attacking shapes. We pulled our flankers in from the wings and made two standard 3-man pods. The third pod was comprised of Lei Time, who was an absolute wrecking ball, and Kiona Hunter who excelled at rucking to be her only support. The girls would insert themselves and roam to take advantage of mismatches. We debuted our new offense against Rocky that next week. We lost 50-33 but felt that we were really on to something (plus, we disagreed with one of the Rocky tries and a controversial call made against us). For some of the girls, they really came alive that game and played better than they ever had before. Suddenly, things were clicking.

I received an email from the National Championship Tournament that they had decided to pull us from Tier II and move us up to Tier I. I spoke to the Eagle head coach, Kraig Smikel, who was part of the board of directors for the tournament and asked if there was any way we could appeal the decision. I had sold the girls and our whole program on the fact that we would be playing Tier II. Kraig didn't think that the board was agree to move us back down but he would make an appeal for us. Apparently, beating multiple teams by 50-100 points, made us look like to much of a powerhouse for Tier II. The appeal came back denied.

I spoke with Jared about how to approach this with the girls. We gathered the captains and told them the news. We said that we could still try to appeal but they agreed that they would rather be challenged. They didn't think dropping 100 on teams sounded like much fun. They said they were up to the challenge and wanted to see how they would stack up against the best out there. It was refreshing to see the confidence they felt and their desire to compete. We had them break the news to the team and everyone was on board.

Stay tuned to Part II coming soon.... (until then, enjoy the pictures!)

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On top of planning a wedding and attending Nationals - we also were getting ready for August and McKendra's new baby boy to arrive! We threw a Baby Shower for McKendra that was a "Freezer Meal Party" where each guest brought a freezer meal as their gift so that McKendra would have some ready-to-eat nutritious meals as she adjusted to being a mom of three! In addition to these gifts, the guests assembled 60 breakfast burritos, 100 PBJ sandwiches and additional freezer meals as the "activity". So many commented on how this was a great idea and enjoyed it! 

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And finally, mom got some extra love on Mother's Day! Of course the kids are always so good to me that I feel like everyday is Mother's Day! August, McKendra and the little boys got me some beautiful flowers and little notes and Lexi did this beautiful watercolor painting of the Meridian Temple.

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Spiritually Speaking