Clarissa Swartz: Clarissa's Snow Day

Wintertime had come to the Tri-State Area yet again. And it was going to be in for a little snowy weather. It was snowing late last night and Clarissa Swartz woke up feeling a little shiver going on.
"Brrr! It's cold this morning," she thought to herself. She looked out the window and looked at what was making it so cold. She saw it was a winter wonderland outside. There were quite a few inches of snow out there.
"Wow! Look at all the snow!" she said.
She got out of bed to see what was going on.
"Mommy! Daddy! There's snow outside!" she told them.
"That's right, Clarissa. We saw it," said Damon.
"We got the radio on to see if there's anything open today," said Vanessa.
They listened closely on the radio.
"And last but not least, Danville Elementary will also be closed on account of the snow," said the reporter.
"That's my school! I don't have to go today!" she said.
"That means we can spend today outside in the snow," said Damon.
"That sounds like a great idea," said Vanessa.
"Yay! Snow!" said Clarissa.

She got on her little coat, her scarf, her little boots with special toe warmers, and her hat to look extra warm and extra fashionable for the snow.
"I can't wait to go out and play," she said.
She saw that her dad was ready to go.
"I'm ready, daddy!" she said.
"I can see that, honey. But your mother is still getting ready," said Damon.
Vanessa was taking some time in there.
"Okay, I'm ready!" she said.
She came out and was wearing a really bulky puffy coat. It made her look like a big cloud.
"Mommy! You look like a big marshmallow!" Clarissa thought.
"It was the only clean coat I had. Besides, it's probably gonna be a bit chilly out there, so I just want to be warm," said Vanessa.
"Well, we're all set. Let's go," said Damon.
They headed out the door with Vanessa getting stuck in the doorway with her coat. But her loving husband and daughter got her out with good teamwork.

Everywhere in Danville, people were having a great time not having to go to work or school and getting the time to relax.
"It's so pretty," said Clarissa.
She ran around in the snow trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.
"I wanna catch five snowflakes at once!" she said.
"That might be easier said than done, sweetie," said Vanessa.
"Not for me," said Clarissa.
She ran around trying to catch a snowflake here and there, and every time she just about had one, she missed it by a hair.
"Almost had that one," she said.
Her dad helped her up and she caught five on her tongue just like she wanted.
"I to'd you I geh ih," she said with her tongue sticking out.
"What did you say?" Damon asked.
Clarissa stuck her tongue back in and said,
"I told you I'd get it."
"That's what I thought you said," said Damon.

The family went up the biggest hill in the park. They brought their toboggan with them.
"Is everyone ready for the ride of their lives?" Damon asked.
"I am!" said Clarissa.
"I wouldn't call this the ride of my life, but it will still be fun," said Vanessa.
They went down the hill and were going really fast. It was like a big winter slide.
"WHEEEEEEE!!!" Clarissa cheered.
"Do you feel the wind on your face?" Vanessa asked.
"I can feel it in my hair, too!" said Clarissa.
She steered the toboggan to the side and got them to avoid the rocky bumps in the way.
"Good steering, girl!" said Damon.
"Thanks!" said Clarissa.
But there was one they forgot.
"Uh-oh..." said Clarissa.
She couldn't quite steer out of harm's way on that. They hit the rock and went flying into the air with a nice soft landing on the snow. Clarissa landed right next to her mom.
"What a ride, huh, mommy?" Clarissa asked.
"It sure was. We had a good run. Right, Damon?" she asked her husband who didn't respond. "Damon?"
"Get off!" Damon requested underneath.
Vanessa got up and saw her husband on the ground.
"Whoops. Sorry about that," she apologized.
"That's okay. We're all right, and that's what matters," said Damon.

Clarissa was making a snowball and wondering where to throw it.
"Who to throw it to?" she wondered.
She turned and tossed it to the closest person she saw: her dad.
"Look out, daddy!" said Clarissa.
"What?" Damon asked.
He got hit by the snowball and saw his daughter who was hiding.
"I see you there, Clarissa," said Damon.
"No you don't!" Clarissa insisted.
Vanessa made a snowball too and also tossed it to Damon.
"Hey, no fair!" Damon told them.
"All's fair in love and snowball fights!" said Vanessa.
"In that case..." said Damon. He made some snowballs of his own and tossed them at his wife who took a lot of hits thanks to her coat.
"He got mommy!" said Clarissa.
"That's one of them," said Damon.
Clarissa wasn't sure how to handle her old man.
"You wouldn't do that to your little girl, would you?" she asked with big puppy eyes begging him not to do that to her.
"No, of course not. You're my little girl, and I wouldn't do that and win a snowball fight that doesn't mean anything," said Damon.
"That's good. Because I can do it to you," said Clarissa. She shoved a snowball right into his face, letting her win.
"Cuteness always wins," Damon stated.

Clarissa got down onto the snow and moved her arms and legs back and forth. She was making a snow angel.
"Look at me!" she said.
Her parents saw the snow angel that she made there.
"That's a very nice snow angel, dear," said Vanessa.
"Yes, but I think it's missing something," said Damon.
"What's that?" Clarissa asked.
Damon and Vanessa had a hunch about that. They got down on the snow and made some snow angels themselves which made it look like they were all holding hands.
"Its parents!" Damon answered.
"Don't they look like one happy family?" Vanessa asked.
"They sure do," said Clarissa.

The next thing they did was go skiing off the top of a mountain. Clarissa was starting off with a few beginner slopes.
"You ready to hit the slopes?" Damon asked.
"I will be after my practice," said Clarissa.
She was using her sticks for breaking and swaying.
"If you want to hit the brakes, fold your legs out like a slice of pizza," said Damon.
Clarissa did just that.
"What does pizza have to do with skiing?" Clarissa asked.
"It's just an idea," said Vanessa. "And if you wanna go fast, make them go straight like two french fries."
"Slice of pizza for breaks, french fries for speed. Now I'm getting hungry," said Clarissa.
She soon practice a bit and started to get the hang of it.
"Look at me! I'm skiing!" she said.
"Now, let's head downhill!" said Damon.
They headed up the ski lift to go to the highest and easiest mountain they had.
"Wow. We're high up," said Clarissa.
"Be sure to get off when we get to the top or you'll go back down," said Vanessa.
They got off just at that moment.
"You ready to ride?" Damon's buddy Tanner told them.
"Just be sure to let my girl take her time. She's still new to this," said Damon.
"You got it," said Tanner.
They got ready and skied down the mountain with Clarissa going through the flags at her own pace.
"She's coming!" said Vanessa.
Clarissa started going faster and reached the bottom before anyone else.
"Wow. That was fun," she thought.
"Nice ski work," said Damon.
"She learns fast," said Tanner.
"Now I feel like pizza," said Clarissa.

They all started to make a snowman together. It was going to be the best snowman they could make.
"I wonder if he can come to live like Frosty?" Clarissa wondered.
"Well, it was just a cartoon, but I think we can give it a shot," said Damon.
He took off his hat and put it on the snowman. It didn't really come to life.
"Don't see that happening," said Damon.
"I'll try mine," said Vanessa.
She took off hers and put it on. Nothing happened again.
"Nope. Nothing," she said.
"My turn!" said Clarissa.
She took off hers and put it on his head. And it still got nothing.
"I guess this isn't one of those snowmen that can come to love. Oh well. I love it either way," she said as she hugged it.
They took their hats and left. As they walked away, the snowman turned to the viewers and stated,
"I don't really like wearing hats."

They came to see Vanessa's Dad, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, doing a little winter thing. He was making snow cakes for people.
"Hi, dad. You sure found something interesting to do this winter," said Vanessa.
"Hi, Vanessa. This is a little treat I made called snow cakes. They're a lot like cakes with snow that taste like frosting," said Heinz.
"How did you make it, grandpa?" Clarissa asked.
"I'm glad you asked, my granddaughter. I scoop up some snow, and then place it into my patented Snow-Flavor-Inator, and choose which flavor the customer wants, and they get themselves a nice tasty wintery treat for everyone to enjoy!" said Heinz.
"That sounds pretty good right now," said Vanessa.
"We'll take three," said Damon.
"That'll be ten bucks then," said Heinz.
Damon paid up.
"Now, choose your flavors," said Heinz.
"Strawberry!" Clarissa requested.
"I'll take chocolate," said Vanessa.
"I'll have the chocolate, too," said Damon.
"Okay, one strawberry and two chocolate it is," said Heinz. He got the snow into his Snow-Flavor-Inator and got the cake batter ready. The snow came out with its flavors and looked really good.
"Here you go," he said.
"Thank you, grandpa," said Clarissa.
"Anytime," said Heinz.
Clarissa loved her snow cake. Vanessa was impressed with her dad's baking skills as well.
"He's gotten good at this," she thought.

They all finished up their cakes and went skating on the pond in the park that had frozen over.
"I wanna be a figure skater when I grow up," said Clarissa.
"I thought you wanted to be a doctor. Or was it a teacher?" Damon asked.
"I wanna be all those. I still haven't decided which one will be first," said Clarissa.
She was skating around on the ice and noticed some kids playing Hockey.
"Look at those players with the sticks and that black disc," she said.
"They're playing Hockey. It's a sport that was invented in Canada," said Vanessa.
"Hockey?" Clarissa asked.
"They get that puck into their opponents' net to score points. Sometimes, it can get a little rough," said Damon.
They saw the players on the ice there and the girl team won the game at the last second.
"Way to go, girls!" said coach Candace Flynn.
"Wow. Maybe I'd wanna play Hockey, too," said Clarissa.
"Wayne Gretzky would be impressed," said Damon.
They continued skating when their puck went over to the thin ice.
"Oh. I'll get that for you," said Clarissa.
She was trying to be careful so as not to break the ice. She got the puck and got out of the way just before the ice broke through.
"Are you all right, dear?" Vanessa asked.
"I'm fine, mommy. I saved their puck," Clarissa answered holding it up.
"Thanks, kid. We must have dropped that," said the lead player for the girls' team.
"You're welcome," said Clarissa.

They even made an igloo together for them to have some family bonding time. Vanessa had some trouble getting in because of her coat.
"A little help?" she asked.
Damon pushed her in and she had a soft impact.
"Thanks," she thanked.
"This is a nice little house," said Clarissa.
"It's called an igloo. It's what people in the arctic areas of the world live in as their homes. They don't have all the stuff we have, so they have to hunt to survive," said Damon.
"Ooh. Do they get cold there?" Clarissa asked.
"They practically love being cold there when they're born there," said Vanessa.
"I wouldn't wanna be too cold up there with penguins," said Clarissa.
"The people that live there are called Eskimos," said Damon.
"Es-kee-mo?" Clarissa pronounced.
"You can see a lot of them up there," said Vanessa.
"I would like to see an Eskimo, but I'd probably miss being home," said Clarissa.
"We all would," said Damon.
"Speaking of home, I think that's where we should go. It's getting late," said Vanessa.
"Okay. Home we go," said Clarissa.

They all headed home and Vanessa got stuck in the doorway again. She took off her coat and was feeling much better.
"How about I make us some hot cocoa while you warm up by the fire?" she suggested.
"Okay," said Clarissa.
She and Damon waited by the fire as Vanessa brought them their cocoa.
"Marshmallows!" Clarissa cheered.
"It's not hot cocoa without them," said Damon.
"Don't drink it just yet. It's still too hot," said Vanessa.
They waited for it to cool off and it got to the perfect temperature to drink. Clarissa took a sip.
"Ouchies! Still hot," she thought.
She blew on it and took a sip and said,
"That's better."
"I can say we had a good day out there," said Damon.
"It was one of my favorite days," said Clarissa.
"We should do it again next time there's a snow day," said Vanessa.
"Yes we should," said Damon.

That night, Clarissa was getting snuggled up in bed.
"I had a lot of fun today," she said.
"We all did," said Vanessa.
"I think the snow will clear up tomorrow, so it'll be time for school again," said Damon.
"I love the winter," said Clarissa. She yawned and was ready for a nice long nap.
"Nightie night, Clarissa," said Vanessa.
"Sleep tight," said Damon.
They both gave her a kiss goodnight and she was happy to have enjoyed the lovely season of winter. The snow fell over the Tri-State Area, and Clarissa couldn't wait for another snow day to spend with her family.

THE END