RIVERTON, Utah — The winter wonderland left behind by our latest snowstorm has many Utahns finding ways to enjoy it.
Ben and Brinley Freeman took building a snowman to a whole other level.
"This one was only 18 ft tall by the end of it," Ben said.
They named the snowman Charlie.
"Ben had added these like little chubby cheeks onto the head and I was like, 'Yep, he's a Charlie,'" Brinley said.
With a little bit of patience and muscle, these newlyweds, along with Ben's dad, spent a little more than two hours Sunday night building a snowman outside of their Riverton home.
"It's got to be like freshly fallen snow so it's nice and compatible and has a lot of moisture in it so it holds really well," Ben said.
By about 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, the Freemans finished stacking up all eight snowballs to make Charlie stand at 18 feet tall.
"The hardest ball to get on is the second ball because it's so big and you have to like lift it up," Ben said. "All three of us got underneath the snowball for that one."
The tall frosty figure outside of the Freemans' home caught plenty of nearby residents' attention.
"We actually had quite a few people that would like stop their cars, we had someone that like drove into our road and was like, 'That's so awesome,'" Ben said.
This kind of winter weather fun isn't something new for him or his family.
"We call today Epic Snowman Day. It's when we go out and just build an awesome snowman... It started when my sister was like two years old, so it's probably about 20-year-old tradition," Ben said. "That was about two years ago. It was a little over 19 feet."
As for the Freemans' latest creation, Charlie the snowman did lose a little bit of height overnight into Monday.
"He's pretty significantly tall, he's about 10 feet I would say," Ben said. "He's definitely leaning quite a bit."
Regardless of Charlie's current condition, Brinley said getting to take part in her new family's tradition this year was pretty special.
"I just think it's awesome that we're able to have this little light of joy of coming together and building a snowman, the littlest things that can bring joy," she said.
While their snowman has lost a little bit of height, the Freemans say they don't plan to try and rebuild him.
"I'm just really grateful for my dad and my wife for wanting to continue this awesome tradition," Ben said.
It is a tradition that the Freemans say will continue next year.
FOX 13 News asked them if they would try to make one even taller next winter. Ben said his uncle has a 15-foot ladder, so he believes there is a possibility they could make one as tall as 22 feet.
