Meet the “Bones Family” from Stone Oak

It’s that time of year again! The “Skeleton Family” is back in Stone Oak, and they are surely making their moves and getting everyone’s attention—from neighbors to those who drive the long way home to see what the skeletons are up to each day.

The Dinotes—aka the “Bones Family” or the “Skeleton House”—are sharing their sense of humor by creating daily scenes with a family of skeletons who know how to have fun. They fish, party, watch movies, ride roller coasters, and they also work (sometimes).

The truth is that the idea of changing the scenes every day came from a discussion between a brother and sister who had two skeletons and wanted to make their yard look spooky for Halloween. They had different ideas, and their parents decided to give each one a different day to choose the scene for the skeletons, without imagining that this activity was going to hook all of them and become a family tradition.

“Mom and Dad got into it and now we all have fun,” said Danielle, who is married to Steve, and together they have two kids: Arianna, 13, and Anthony, 9.

Last October, more than half a year into the pandemic, the Dinotes were looking for a way to have fun and never imagined that many others were about to join their party.

“We just were being silly last year and after a few days we started seeing people drive up and take pictures and we were like, ‘hey they are taking pictures!’ but then when we saw a school bus drive by and the windows pop down, we started taking pictures of the school bus and we were just laughing. we were amazed. And then suddenly people started thanking us,” said Steve.

“All my friends, all my teachers know about this—even my bus driver,” adds Anthony, full of excitement.

As their neighbor, I have witnessed how popular they are myself. Our street was already busy because we live in the neighborhood in front of Wilderness Oak Elementary, but now a lot of people stop by their home and enjoy the decorations, and I have also seen many people on social media asking for directions to come and see the “Skeleton Home.”

This year the skeletons appeared on Monday, October 4, with a couple’s yoga, followed by a National Night Out scene. Other popular scenes have included a Bob Ross painting group session, Google Fiber construction workers, and even the Milk Crate Challenge from TikTok!

The scenes are fun, and you probably can tell a lot about the Dinotes when looking at them, but I can assure you they are even more fun than they look! Last weekend the family organized an “Oktoberfest” potluck in their front yard that got neighbors together, meeting each other. The skeletons were dressed for the occasion and the food had an authentic German flavor, something they probably learned from living in Germany for more than three years as a military family.

When interviewing the family for this article, I was also able to tell that they run on fun and love. “He is the funniest guy on earth. He is just a lot of fun and he is just like a kid in a candy store,” said Danielle, showing how she loves the funny side of her husband.

The “Skeleton Home” already made the news on KSAT and the “Bones Family” was also featured by comedian Trey Kennedy on his Instagram account, with 2.5 million followers. But the most important thing for the Dinotes is that neighbors are enjoying this as much as they are.

“Ultimately what we get is people thanking us. A lady today said, ‘I really appreciate it because it’s not scary. It’s fun, silly—it’s for families.’ Those positive comments are what make us happy because people enjoy it. That’s what it’s about,” added Steve.