Nathan throws open the back door and stops. A mountain of snow sits in the yard, higher than the fence.
'We have to build the biggest snowman ever,' he declares, already sinking knee-deep into the drift.
Nathan and Owen roll a big snowball across the yard, their boots leaving tracks behind them.
Roll, push, roll, push — Owen giggles as the ball bumps over roots and gets stuck.
They wobble it free together and keep rolling until it's bigger than Owen himself.
Nathan packs snow onto the big sphere for the snowman's body. Owen pats the top layer.
'Like a pillow!' he says. They stack two more snowballs and add coal eyes, a carrot nose, and Nathan's red scarf.
A snowball smashes into the snowman's head — CRACK — and it tumbles down into a pile of white.
Owen's lower lip trembles. Nathan kneels in the snow, pokes the broken snowman, then picks up a handful of loose snow and starts packing it back together.
They rebuild, bigger and wider this time. Owen dumps snow from his bucket. Nathan slaps it flat.
They add eyes, a nose, a scarf — Owen's blue mitten — and step back.
The snowman stares proudly at them, and Nathan grins. Back inside, two mugs of hot chocolate steam on the table, and Nathan raises his to Owen.