LANGFORD -- All that remains now is a pile of snow. There's a hat without a head sitting beside it. Next to that lies a carrot – a nose without a face. "[It's] Willy the One-Eyed Snowman," Megan explains, before laughing. "We lost him late last night as the wind picked-up."

Megan says Willy succumbed to the storm, after her husband, Steve, attempted to surpass the height of last year's 12-foot snowman. There's a picture of them posing beside the snowy structure that towers above the first storey of their house. It was constructed with one ladder, two parents, their three daughters (Maya, Halle, and Anna), and a few of their friends.

This year – as soon as the snow started falling – the kids in the neighbourhood started knocking on their door. "[They asked],'Hey! Can we make another snowman?" Steve recalls with a smile. "And my kids – every moment – 'Dad! Can we build a snowman?!'"

Steve's lived in Alberta and knows a thing or two about snow. So he waited until it acquired that perfect construction quality and then went to work.

"We were motivated!," Megan says. "It was very exciting!" They were joined by their neighbours this time. Four families filled their front yard, using three ladders and a closet door.

"We used the closet door to roll the big snowball up to the second spot," Steve explains. "Because it was too heavy to lift."

Megan – from 'Megan Edelman Photography' – took pictures of the process. The photos show neighbours of all ages, working together and playing together. 

"We don't really do a lot with all the families," 12-year-old Halle says. "It was really fun."

"It felt great!" says Justin, a 14-year-old who lives across the street.

"Everybody was so happy!" 10-year old Maya smiles.

And then the snowman-making team faced adversity together.

"The head was slanted about this way," seven year-old Joel says, demonstrating how precarious Willy's head was.

They also had a problem with the two kale-sprouts they planned to use as eyes. "One kalette just would not stick," Megan says. "So we left him as Willy the One-Eyed Snowman!"

But that didn't stop Willy from looking down – and seeing clearly – what can happen when a community comes together to realize a lofty goal.

"He was 13.5 feet!," Megan beams. "Not including the top hat!" That's more than a foot-and-a-half taller than last year.

"It wasn't a pretty snowman," Steve says, before smiling. "But it was the most fun we've had as a neighbourhood!"

Which is why the kids in the community are not mourning Willy's demise. Instead, they're celebrating the community spirit that lives on. They're taking that hat and carrot and rebuilding something new, laughing together the whole time.