A little boy and girl glide across the icy patio, pretending to be hockey players. As night falls, the air freezes their cheeks. They giggle as they watch each puff of breath turn white and dissipate. How joyous it is that winter is finally here.

One small snowflake lands on the girl’s nose. “It’s snowing!” both kids yell. They try catching snowflakes on their tongues. Each falling snowflake is bigger than the last. Snow begins to fall more quickly. Mom calls the children inside. It is getting too dark and cold, so they watch the snowfall from the window.

Flakes start sticking to the sidewalk. Soon, they stack up, forming that thin, valuable layer of icy white. If it keeps snowing, maybe tomorrow will be a snow day. In hopeful awe, they fall asleep at the window. Mom and Dad carry them off to bed.

In the morning, the kids are pleased to find a foot and a half of snow on the ground. School has been canceled, and they are ready to play. Gathering up some old scarves and hats for a surprise, the kids sneakily make their way outside to the neighbor’s. In the corner of Old Man Greg’s front yard, they quietly build a snowman. As they add the finishing touches, Old Man Greg comes out to shovel snow and catches them in the act. The two kids giggle and run back home, only slightly disappointed that he knows who did it.

Dad is ready to take the kids to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a day of sledding. They take a short trip down the road, and when they get there, Grandpa is climbing down the ladder. He pulled five sleds down from the garage attic. The kids are excited to see their favorite sled, the little blue disk.

Everyone takes a sled except for Dad, who takes two, and they march towards the great big sledding hill just beyond the creek. Walking up the hill is always so tiring. Finally, they make it to the top. The little boy and girl plop into the snow and lay there while they catch their breath.

It is the perfect time to make snow angels. They spread their arms and legs back and forth until they are ready to see their creations. The angels would have been beautiful if they didn’t have feet and handprints in them from climbing out.

Dad slides down the hill first to make the sledding track. The two kids share a sled. The girl sits in the back because she’s older and bigger. The younger and smaller boy sits in the front. “Three, two, one,” the girl pushes them off, and they start down the hill. The first trip down the hill wasn’t as fast as they thought it would be.

After several trips up and down the hill, the kids decide they want to race. Each kid picks the sled that they think will be the fastest. “On your mark, get set, go!” Dad and Grandpa give them each a big push. Speeding down the hill, each kid is hoping to win.

This time, neither sled stops at the bottom of the hill. Each sledding track is so icy and slippery from all the trips downhill. Dad and Grandpa must have pushed them harder than they thought. Both sleds crash right into the creek bed. Dad and Grandpa take turns racing down the hill to pull the crying children out of the creek and carry them back to the house.

The tragedy is forgotten as the door opens. Mom and Grandma had baked cinnamon rolls and poured them each a cup of hot chocolate. The kids change into warm, dry clothes and enjoy their sweet treats. It is the perfect end to the snowy day.

This was written by our contributing writer, Karina Coghlan.