What’s Up ~April 2025

Grandma Lynda on April 16, 2025

Hein-Baker Trio

Garth and Bethany: Garth spent two days in Moab, Utah, biking and camping with his friend, Jim, from Winter Park. They also hosted Bethany’s niece, Zephone and her friend, Lilah for a weekend of spring skiing at Winter Park.

Chance is having a good time in Tokyo. He likes his host family, although dealing with a toddler is not always easy. He’s taking three classes ~Japanese, Environmental Policy and Food Value Chain (his favorite class). He rides three separate trains to get to campus, for a total 1 1/2 hour commute each way. The campus building is a huge twenty-two floor skyscraper with two cafeterias, gym, and a 7-11, where he gets lunch almost every day. Although he’s only been in Japan a short time, Chance is already becoming more proficient in Japanese language and culture, including using chopsticks for most meals. 

Jason and Erika’s Family

Jason and Erika ~ No news

Devon Last month Devon was looking forward to spending time in her favorite city, New Orleans, with her favorite friends and colleagues, and with good friends, Wolf and Kerry, who currently live there. But, she got “put on a jury.” (Crazy right?) Devon stayed home to do her civic duty. Send her a private message if you want to know about the experience. She has “a lot of feelings.” Since then, she’s been working hard to ramp up for #birthday month. She’s starting off strong at Jackie Robinson Day at Dodgers/Rockies. Devon notes, “#42 is killing it!”

Tyler landed a summer internship at Adobe in San Jose, one of her top dream companies! She’ll be on their Digital Experience Marketing team as an Internal Product Manager. This is a super competitive and prestigious MBA role, and she’s really grateful. (And we, her family, are so proud of her!) Over Spring Break, Tyler became an Advanced Open Water Certified scuba diver on a life-changing school trip to the Bahamas, where she lived on a boat for five days and saw sharks (including a rare hammerhead!), turtles, stingrays, and more. Right now Tyler is focused on wrapping up the semester, balancing coursework, launching her business (LifeQuest), leading a few clubs, and planning Yacht Week in Croatia for her class this summer!   


Connor was recently laid-off from his new job at Boxcar Coffee because foot-traffic has decreased tremendously. He is actively seeking other jobs in Boulder and hopes to find something else soon. In the meantime, he goes to the gym five times a week. He was recently promised a free electric bicycle from one of Grandma’s friends and he very much looks forward to having a bike to ride around Boulder this summer. Connor’s other news is that he has a new roommate, Grace, starting May 10th. Grace was previously a Resident Assistant in one of the dorms.


Max has decided he wants to go to college next year to study kinesiology, with an eventual goal of becoming a physical therapist. He’s deciding between CU Boulder and CSU Fort Collins. His senior year is winding down and he’s looking forward to attending Prom at Coors Field in two weeks. He’s applying for a summer job now. Max would love to work doing auto mechanics, maybe at a car dealership

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa continues to deal with medical issues, including pain in his hands and feet. He notices that the usual flock of robins in missing from his North Aurora neighborhood. He’s hoping to start feeling better, so he can spend more time outdoors now that the weather is better.

Grandma is delighted with the warmer weather. She has more than thirty yellow daffodils blooming in the front and back yards. Her new pear tree is full of blossoms and bright red tulips are beginning to open up, as well. She keeps watching for robins, but so far, no luck. Again this year she’s following the Osprey Cam from Boulder and hopes there will be chicks this spring.

What’s Up? March 2025

Grandma Lynda on March 15, 2025

Hein-Baker Trio

Garth and Bethany spent time this past month helping Chance get ready to go to Japan for the next four months. They have helped him with medical appointments, his visa application procedures, and making sure he has what he needs for travel. Bethany and Garth celebrated Bethany’s birthday with a day trip to the Botanic Gardens.

Chance is leaving for Tokyo on March 19th. He’s had a busy month getting ready for his trip, including spending eight days with friends in Salem, OR. He finished up his job as a ski lift operator in Winter Park, but not before pulling his rotator cuff, skiing with Max. While in Tokyo, Chance will live with a host family, which includes a young couple and their three boys, ages 2, 7, and 10. Vaya con Dios, Chance. Please stay in touch.

Jason and Erika

Jason and Polaris have been going on long walks, and practicing walking uphill. In their spare time, they visit the Ronald McDonald House and an assisted living center.

Devon just resturned from another beautiful tropic wedding, this time in Hawaii with many good friends from Skadden Law. And, in two weeks, she’ll be at her unit’s conference in New Orleans, where she’ll also get to catch up with her forever best friends, Wolf and Kerry. In these unprecedented times, Devon is grateful for unwavering good character and love of her friends old and new..

Tyler is halfway through her second semester in the MBA program at Cornell University. She is applying for a summer internship and hopes to hear good news soon. Tyler loves all of her classes, especially her marketing immersion class, where she gets to partner with a real-life company. Currently, she’s working on a project for DiGiorno pizza. Tyler recently was certified in scuba diving, preparing for a spring break trip to the Bahamas with her classmates at the end of March. They will live on a boat for a week and spend a lot of time in the water.

Connor has a new job! He’s working at Boxcar Coffee Roasters on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. He’s excited to be in training for his new job and looks forward to when he’s actually certified as a barrista and can work more hours at the coffee bar (with tips!) In the meantime, Connor continues to work at Target to fill in hours on his schedule.

Max was recently accepted at University of Colorado – Boulder, as well as Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. He’s still waiting to hear on two additional applications. Max decided not to try out for his high school baseball team this year, for a variety of very good reasons. He is eager to finish high school and wishes all of his classes were as interesting and as much fun as auto mechanics.

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa Jim had a great birthday party at Grandma’s house at the end of February. The weather was beautiful and about twenty people came to the party, including our family, his extended family (brother Bill and family, and Bill and Phyllis Esser), and friends from St. Francis School (Jimmy Coogan and Jim Nemmers.)

Grandma Lynda is already excited about her garden this year. Nearly 200 small bulbs are starting to poke their heads up through the dirt. Plants from last fall look great and promise to thrive this summer. This week Grandma Lynda added a new crabapple tree and eighteen baby hostas in the backyard. Next up, she’s adding a new section to the Garden of Magic and Miracles ~ a Buddhist garden with a Buddha planter, surrounded by all white flowers. Think daisies, lilies and white petunias. Next year she will add some beautiful white tulips and white phlox.

February News

Grandma Lynda on February 3, 2025

Hein-Baker Trio

Garth  and Bethany ~ saw a low of – 26 degrees during the January cold snap. The cold weather froze their downspout and underground drain. They spent two afternoons with hot water, heat guns, shop vacs, hammers and chisels before the ice broke loose. It is amazing that the drains froze despite having electric heat tape in the gutter and downspout.

Chance is spending five days skiing at Jackson Hole, Wyoming before leaving for Tokyo in March. He will be staying with a host family and taking 12 credit hours of classes while he is there. Chance is excited about this opportunity and promises to stay in touch by text and telephone. 

Jason and Erika

Jason is  very busy with his real estate clients. He receives new clients from Zillow every other week. He and Polaris will be visiting the Ronald McDonald House in a few weeks.

Erika has been helping her mother, who has been very sick lately. She’s also been busy catering funerals at St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Denver.

Devon recently traveled to St. Kitt’s for her good friend’s wedding. The bride is one of Devon’s core group of friends from her cheerleading team at Harvard, and went to Columbia Law School with Devon as well. Many of their mutual friends — and now their partners and children — from relationships spanning more than decade were in attendance! As much as Devon loved the sun and the sea, it was the love, joy, and enduring community that made the event unforgettable.

Tyler is taking a full load of classes and, at the same time, spending time deep in her hunt for a summer internship.. Her concentration class this semester is Strategic Product and Marketing Immersion. She also hustling to secure small business grants for LifeQuest, her exciting non-profit business. She  says, “It’s been a whirlwind, but I’m embracing the challenge and making the most of every opportunity.”

Connor ~ Enjoys living and working in Boulder. He loves being near the mountains and the college-vibe. He is designing his own YouTube channel and applying for other jobs. He would love to land a job in journalism. He especially likes watching sports, and fervently hopes the Eagles win the Super Bowl.

Max is finishing up his last semester in high school. He goes to work-out training for baseball and hopes to make the varsity team at try-outs in March. Max applied to three colleges, and has been accepted at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins. He’s waiting to hear from C.U. Boulder and University of Las Vegas, Nevada. In his spare time, Max earns money by shoveling snow for his neighbors.

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa Jim is dealing with some tough family stuff. His brother, Joe, and Joe’s wife, Sharon, have worrisome health issues. Grandpa’s cousin, Denis Gessing, died peacefully on February 7, after a long illness. This is a difficult time in  the Hein family.

Grandma Lynda is learning to enjoy winter. It’s her season for rest and creativity, before the excitement of spring. Last month, Grandma Lynda created a craft room in the basement and started this family newsletter.