The entire Bennett family was dressed and downstairs in the kitchen. Marie was cooking breakfast, and the scent eggs and bacon filled the air. James opened his laptop at table and checked the local news website for school closings. Nicholas, Lizzy, and Jackson were clustered together along the eat-in kitchen countertop bar, eagerly discussing their plans for a fun day in the snow.
"We definitely need to have a snowball fight!" Lizzy exclaimed throwing her hands in the air.
"With snowforts!" Nicholas excited added, smiling from ear to ear.
"What 'bout goin' sled-ridin'?" Jackson asked looking up at his two older siblings.
"Of course we'll go sled-ridin'!" Lizzy assured her little brother before leaning in and putting her arms around her brothers. She pulled them closer into her.
"I bet we could go ice skatin', too. That lake out in the woods has to be frozen over by now." She whispered, smiling.
Nicholas bit his bottom lip. "I don't know, Mom and Dad say that's not safe."
Lizzy rolled her eyes a little. "Yeah, for them. We're a lot smaller than Mom and Dad, Nick. It'll be fun! Besides, what Mom and Dad don't know won't hurt 'em, will it?"
Nicholas narrowed his eyes a little and started to argue with his sister. Jackson continued to watch his siblings bicker before growing bored and calling out to his father.
"Dad, do we have a snow day or not?"
This got both Nicholas and Lizzy to stop their little quarrel and look to James, who looked up from the laptop with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Well, I'm sorry guys but," James started, and the kids' faces fell. Their father smirked before continuing.
"I'm sorry that you're stuck at home all day!"
Jackson smiled as his brother and sister high-fived and cheered. Marie then set down their plates in front of the kids and turned to her husband. She walked around the counter and leaned down to him, stopping when she had her arms wrapped around his neck comfortingly. She whispered into his ear.
"You have some extra vacation days, don't you? How about you stay home from work today? I'm sure the kids would love for you to be able to take them to the big hill."
It appeared that Lizzy had heard the suggestion and turned around to flash her father a big, puppy-dog pout. Nicholas and Jack did the same.
"Please Dad! Please, please, please!" The children began to plead and beg before their mother shot them all a look; they quickly returned to eating their food, but still kept an eye on their father.
"Come on Jamie, you know you'll enjoy it." Marie rested a hand on her husband's shoulder. "You might even get to see… an old friend."
This caused Jamie to smile a little before sighing playfully. "Alright, alright. I'll take the day off."
Nicholas, Lizzy, and Jackson all cheered. Marie smiled.
"I'll call the office to let them know you won't be in today."
Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I can call; don't you need to get to work soon?"
His wife smiled again. "If you had looked at the school closings more closely, you'd have noticed that my school district is also closed. I do not have work today."
Jackson, who by now had finished his breakfast along with his siblings, looked up.
"You're stayin' home too? Yay!" He jumped off his chair and ran around the counter to his parents. He flashed a big, toothy grin at his mother "Are you gonna play out in the snow with us, Mom?"
"Perhaps, for a little while at least." Marie smiled down at her youngest son and had to laugh a little when he raced back around the counter and plopped onto the ground inside the mid room. He started to dig out his snow boots when he found everyone watching him.
"What are you guys waitin' for? Come on! Let's go!"
It took the Bennett family another twenty minutes to get everyone ready for a day in the snow; coats, boots, gloves, and all. Now they were all out in the winter wonderland that had appeared overnight.
Lizzy was making snow angels and trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue, Marie was helping Jackson create a snowman, and Jamie was making a snow fort with Nicholas. Soon other kids and families were outside, and snow ball fights began to break out.
Someone called out, "Girls versus boys!" and the children separated accordingly. Snow was sailing through the air every which way; there even seemed to be more snowballs flying than possible with the amount of children. Laughter and glee filled the entire town as teenagers and adults joined in on the fun.
Eventually the battle stopped, everyone agreeing on a "truce" for now. Many of the children headed inside for lunch at this time. The sun was high in the sky, and it was around noon. The temperature remained below freezing however, and the snow showed no signs of melting anytime soon.
Soon everybody returned, and sledding became the new favorite activity. Kids raced to the tops of hills, taking turns giving each other a boost as they flew down lawns and streets. Nicholas and Jackson shared a sled and raced their sister down the street. Their mother and father watched; making sure they were out of the way of traffic, not that there was much of any. It seemed as if everyone had simply stayed at home today to enjoy the first day of winter, and a feeling of happiness filled the cold air.
Eventually the teenagers and adults returned to their homes, and children began to grow tired of sledding. Many went back to snowball fights, and some started to make snowmen, snow angels and some made attempts at igloos as well. It was not around five o'clock, and the temperature was now starting to drop as the sun started to set. Nicholas, Lizzy, and Jackson were all playing in an igloo they had built when their parents walked up to them.
"Hey kidos, your mother and I are going to head back to the house. Make sure you get home by seven, alright?" Jamie told his children.
Lizzy poked her head out from inside the igloo and nodded. "Okay Dad!"
As their parents walked away, the little girl turned around to look at her siblings. She had a smile on her face.
"Now is our chance to go to the lake! Come on; let's ask some of the others to go with us!"
I'm sorry the chapters for this might be a little shorter than I prefer, but I wrote it all as one long continuous section in my notebook and well this was the best way to divide it up. Chapter 2 is written; it just needs proof-read! I hope you're all enjoying it so far, please read and review.