“C’mon, Willie, come out and play,” Rachel whined as she ran up to her brother, William. Her blonde pigtails swung under her pink cotton hat. Her matching pink jacket and snow pants made her look bigger than she was. She pranced in the spot, waiting for his reply.
“Oh, alright,” William sighed as he got out of his bed. They may be 10 years apart, but she would not have her family be any other way. Rachel was glad to have a big brother to admire; it made the rest of her third-grade classmates jealous. William tossed his long legs off the bed as he got up. “Wait by the door. I need to get ready for going outside first.”
“Yay!” Rachel took off down the hallway again as she knew he was getting ready. Outside, it had been snowing for the last few days, making for a fluffy white landscape. She has been wanting to make snow angels, snowmen, and snowballs for days now.
She took the time to sit on the bench by the door, looking around at the light tan walls as she grabbed her purple winter boots. Rachel pulled them on and waiting, knowing William may take his time. She tried to get him out before, but he didn’t think the snow stuck enough for going out to play. Even though he complained about it, Rachel knew William was just as excited to go out.
“Alright, brat,” he dragged as he grabbed his grey winter coat from behind the white doors of the closet. His hair started to mat down from his hat, and he shoved his hands into his black gloves. “Let’s go then.”
“Yay!” It did not take long for Rachel to throw the door open and run out into their front lawn. Their house was a sky-blue ranch-style house, and they did not have a big yard. The front yard was big enough, though, and Rachel knew if they did play in the front, more people would be able to see their works of snow. She threw herself into the snow and started moving her arms and legs. William joined her in making a snow angel. The snow continued to lightly kiss their faces, and Rachel could not help but smile, her mouth gapped where she lost her tooth last month. Her tooth was slowly coming back in.
“Now, snowmen,” Rachel demanded as she tried getting up as carefully as she could. Once she stood, she looked back and saw perfect wings and a dress-like imprint in the snow. Her brother also rose, ready for the next task. Rachel started packing snow together as fast as she could. She watched as her brother did so carefully, probably with the intention of making a perfect ball. Her goal was to create the big base of the snowman. Once Rachel got the base the size she wanted, William put the middle piece on top. The last ball William made sure to start as Rachel ran to her hiding spot of stones. She made sure to hide them in the fall, knowing rocks would be harder to find once the snow came. Once the snowman was complete, they stepped back together to inspect their man. The stones made up the eyes and smile on the top, as well as three in the middle imitating buttons.
“What else do you want to do? I’m getting cold.” William looked at Rachel just as she threw the first snowball. Rachel made sure to run, knowing it would not take long for William to get his snowball made. “Oh, it’s on.”
Rachel laughed as she felt the snowball hit her jacket, and before long, Rachel and William were in a snowball fight. They laughed and ran as snow flew all around them. There was no score kept, and before too long William and Rachel fell back into the snow. They laughed as their arms and legs once again started to move. The snow angels formed before they headed back inside. Once they removed their winter gear, they made their way to the kitchen. William started making the hot chocolate, which was their tradition after they played in the snow.
“Make sure you blow on it,” William reminded Rachel before he blew on his himself. They sat at the dining room table, enjoying the day as they looked out at the snowman once more.