ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – There are a lot of things New Mexicans look forward to in the fall that just isn’t happening this year because of the pandemic. It’s one of the reasons an Albuquerque family decided to do something different each day this month to give their neighbors something to look forward to.
With no Balloon Fiesta, no fall sports, a global pandemic, and a tense election season, Elaine Bryan said she had to share what an Albuquerque family was doing in her neighborhood. “This family has done this, and it’s just been a highlight of my morning each day,” Bryan said.
This October, Bryan finds herself visiting a family of skeletons in her Albuquerque neighborhood near Coors and Paseo Del Norte. And each day, the skeletons make her smile.
“The first time she put it out, I thought, ‘That’s really cute,'” recalled Bryan. “And then the next day, I walked by and I said, ‘Wait a minute, they changed it. Every morning when I walk, I take a picture of the new scene and it’s just – it makes me laugh.”
Sabrina Bergsten and her family are the ones behind the ‘Bergy Bones’ set-up. Each skeleton represents a Bergsten family member. There’s mom, dad, sisters Lily, 9, Lucy, 7, brothers, Landon, 5, and Louie, 3, and their family dog, Chewy.
“A lot of it’s from our life experiences,” Bergsten laughed. “Which, some of these I probably shouldn’t admit to.”
Neighbors who live in the area say they look forward to seeing what new theme the family comes up with each day. Monday’s theme was a skeleton pyramid with a sign that said, ‘We’re going to be on the news!’
The skeleton family had a ‘smores campout, played musical chairs, even hosted their own ‘Dancing with the Dead’ show complete with an emcee and judges on the lawn.
They also showcase some real-life events as a family of six, like celebrating potty training successes with their youngest. “Potty training or my husband’s watching the Lakers game and I’m like trying to juggle dinner and the kids fighting,” Bergsten said.
They’ve also created a social distancing lemonade stand, where Bergsten was surprised to find actual tips in the tip jar. But the best she said, is yet to come.
“We haven’t done our favorite yet,” Bergsten said. She joked that her daily set-ups are requiring a lot of Amazon shipments and zip ties.
“We had a friend from church tell us you know if you can’t leave from COVID being better than what you were before, then we’re missing opportunities,” said Bergsten. “This is kinda one thing we felt like we could spread joy and happiness to everybody around us.”
Bergsten said they’ll use the tips from the lemonade stand to invest in more zip ties. They plan to continue with new themes through each day in October.
