Africa At Last: Our First Day in Senegal

April 2026

Almost three years ago, Parker completed his mission to Accra, Ghana. Brian and I thought it would be pretty cool to pick him up afterwards, meet some of the people he taught, and see where he served. However, Parker wanted to have the experience of traveling home with fellow missionaries and going back to Ghana at a future date.

Well, between weddings, vacation time, school schedules, and finances, I wasn't sure a trip to Africa would happen another time, but it did. 

Looking back, I am so glad we waited because we were able to visit both Paker's former mission (Ghana) and Chris and Angelique in part of their mission (Senegal). 

What followed was two weeks of family time, new friends, new foods, bumpy roads, unexpected adventures, tender mercies, and memories we'll never forget.

My neck pillow. Parker said I looked like a terrorist.

Parker was a trooper traveling with the 50 and older crowd. 

Brian and I had no shame. We were prepped and overpacked with everything we might need: expensive neck pillows, compression socks, hydration packets, chargers, back up chargers, mini fans, digital itineraries, printed itineraries, sunscreen, mosquito repellant, trip insurance, and more. 

Bri did pull down his cool compression socks eventually. I was wearing pants mine weren't so overt.

About a month before we left, I read something on Reddit that I tucked away for later: Enjoy the adventure. Delays, wrong turns, and unexpected challenges aren't interruptions to the trip—they're part of the trip.

I was grateful for that advice. Most of our trip did flow really smoothly, but when a couple of bigger issues occurred (VRBO scam, forgotten Yellow Fever card, canceled flight etc.), I tried to lean into the "enjoy the adventure" advice.

We didn't have much of an itinerary going for our two week trip...which seemed CRAZY and reckless. We fluffed it up along the way though and we had a great time.

After a twenty hour flight, we arrived in Senegal on Sunday April 5th, Easter morning. It was wonderful to see Chris and Ang on the other side of customs. We eventually made it through and were able to give each other big hugs. 

It just seemed unbelievable that we were reunited in AFRICA. I shared some of the history between Chris, Ang and I in this blog post. What a blessing to be able to visit them on their mission.

The first apartment I reserved for our group was not legitimate...so starting off strong!  Luckily, we were reimbursed and found a nice three bedroom AirBnb rent. 

Chris and Ang had food and snacks ready, and we enjoyed conference together. It was a wonderful way to spend a good part of the day.

We also went to the Rising Africa monument. I was a little concerned because of my knee, but it held up through 27 flights of stairs-definitely a tender mercy. It felt so good to remember the blessing I had received the week before when my knee was so swollen. I knew I might need to go more slowly, but because of the blessing, I knew it would be okay to at least try join in activities like this.

This monument celebrates Africa's strength, unity and cultural heritage. Inside the statue is a three story museum with artwork that shares African culture throughout many years.  You can also take a very small and somewhat rickety elevator to the top of the  head of the man to look out over the city of Dakar and the Atlantic Ocean. 

The group tour was in French and so Chris quietly translated for us. Our guide was very thurough and informative.

When we got back to our place, I utilized our frozen veggies to keep my knee swelling down.

Chris and Ang prepared a delicious Easter dinner. 

Out of our apartment balcony, we could see this hill with a lighthouse on it. This is the place were Elder Bednar, in 2017, dedicated the country of Senegal for the preaching of the gospel.

After dinner, we wanted to go on a walk to the ocean. We could tell from Google Maps it was really close, but we couldn't really figure out how to get there. Chris was staying back to read and respond to missionary emails, and so it was all up to Angelique. I was so impressed as she used her French to ask people on the streets for directions. She began learning French shortly before they were called to serve as mission leaders in Cote d'Ivoire.

We went down this steep and narrow path that led to the beach....and my knee held up.🩷

There were lots of young men and a few young women exercising on the beach. They were in groups dancing, or sprinting, or doing pushups. 

Mosquito born illnesses such as Malaria and Yellow Fever are concerns in West Africa, and the mosquitos were out in full force, so we didn't stay long. 

Our walk to the ocean was a nice way to end our first day in Senegal. 

Baby Snuggles Before Africa

March 2026

I ended up getting to spend time with this sweet baby boy when he was just a week old, and he was absolutely tiny. Constantly swaddled, he looked like the cutest little burrito.

I was worried about my baby girl and glad I was able to give her a hug and help out in person by taking shifts with Cal, cooking, grocery shopping, etc. 

Labor and delivery are no joke.

It was fun to see Brinley and Derek in action. They were working around the clock taking care of this little guy and getting so little sleep, as new parents do. They were exhausted, but they made a great team. 

I also loved being with Aubrey. It was a little complicated because I was staying 30 minutes north of Orem, and Aubrey was 15 minutes south in Provo. She also was still in school and didn't have a car, but we made it work when it would work. 

Week one, I mainly tried to help Derek and Brinley take care of Brinley and Cal. 

Week two was supposed to include more time with Aubrey and her roommates, plus a little mission shopping. But out of nowhere, my left knee became a major problem.

We managed one modified shopping day. Aubrey pushed me around in a shopping cart at times, and I borrowed a motorized chair when I could. But my knee kept swelling bigger and bigger throughout the day. I could barely bend it, and walking became difficult fast. It visibly worsened by the hour.

I was trying not to panic, but I was freaking out a little bit. 

Our long-awaited trip to Africa was only six days away, and I knew there was no way I could travel around the world in that condition.

Brian was wonderful from home—offering physical therapy advice, encouragement, love, and reassurance. I went to Urgent Care, where an X-ray showed crystallized calcifications that were likely causing the swelling. Our family prayed that my knee would heal enough for me to walk and go on the trip. I also received a blessing that brought comfort, hope, and very clear direction on what I needed to do to heal:

Rest.

Thankfully, I was staying with Denise and Bruce, who are always so welcoming. Their backyard view felt peaceful and healing, and Denise took very good care of me while I tried to lay low and be a minimal disruption to their lives.

The swelling in my knee went down little by little. I was probably about 80% better when it was time to begin my 20-hour flight. 

I was especially glad Brinley felt well enough to come to Draper before I left. She, Derek, and Cal stopped by for one last visit before our trip.

And Denise happily soaked up some baby snuggles too.

 

I could post about 40 more pictures of this sweet boy, but I'll keep it to six. 

Goodbye for now, little burrito

I'm off to Africa with Brian and Parker for the adventure of a lifetime.

But I'm happy knowing we’ll all be back in Utah in May for this sweet boy’s baby blessing.

The Best Three Months!

January-March 2026

One of my very favorite things this winter was having Parker home more often. He was doing an internship in Carlsbad, New Mexico from January through March. Because it was "only" two hours away, he decided to come home most weekends to do his laundry, rest, go to church, and just be with family. Often he only had Sundays off, but to him, the drive was worth it.

It made my mama heart so happy.

I loved getting to hug him so often. We would sometimes squeeze in a late-night walk together. He'd hang out with Tanner and Erin and snuggle and play with Kaide. He joined us for Sunday dinner, FHE, and our extended family Sunday night gatherings. Then around 9:00 p.m., he would head back to New Mexico to get ready for another long work week.

His major is Construction Management, and it was interesting hearing about the projects he was working on while interning for an oil company. It isn't where he wants to end up long term, but I think he appreciated both the experience and the paycheck.

One of the harder things about sending kids off to missions and college at 18 is realizing they don't really come back home in the same way again. We only see them a few times a year, and I know they are happy and exactly where they should be, which brings me so much peace. But I do wish we lived a bit closer to BYUI and BYU.

Having Parker home almost every weekend was such an unexpected gift. It was WONDERFUL. He is funny and smart and helpful, and he brings so much life into our home. I'm glad he is back at BYU–Idaho (and I know he is too), but I'll treasure this random little three-month season when we got to enjoy having him so close.

He used EVERY ONE of these eggs to make breakfast burritos For ONE WEEK to take back to his apartment. Crazy boy.

Temple trip in Lubbock

"Sunday Night" hula hoop battles. All of the cousin (age 32-6) are good, I mean really, really good hula hoopers because it was taught at their elementary school. See this blog post from 2013 However, Christian, age 6, beat everyone. It was impressive.

Tanner & Parker

Visiting Gram and Grandpa Vore

Baby Cal

3-26

Calvin Thayne Atkinson made his arrival into the world this March.

And just like that, he completely stole my heart.

I loved getting every little update Derek sent before and after his birth. But I especially wanted to know how my baby girl was doing through it all.

Just look at all of that hair! He is so precious.

Our family was definitely a little jealous when we saw Aubrey getting to hold baby Cal first — although we were happy for her too, of course. (And I have to mention the somewhat coordinated sister outfits. Aubrey stopped by the hospital after attending the Lindon Temple open house.)

I am so incredibly happy for Brinley and Derek. Baby Cal is one blessed little boy to be joining their family.

We already love him so much, and I can hardly wait to meet him.