text: For most of the country, spring is already in full force. But chilly temperatures in the northeast have kept snow on the ground well into April. One family on New York's Long Island were even able to keep a snowman alive until this weekend, when their Frosty finally melted in 70-degree temperatures. But before the snowman withered away, he became somewhat of an internet celebrity, with more than 3,000 people liking the page the family dedicated to their carrot-nosed friend on Facebook. Scroll down for video . Until next year! A family on New York's Long Island tried to keep this snowman alive for as long as possible, but the Frosty melted this weekend when 70-degree temperatures hit the area . Remnants: The Fregoe family took a small ball of ice from the snowman to store in the freezer until next winter, when he will come to life again . Mike Fregoe of Massapequa Park says he and his family built the snowman in January, when it grew to be more than 9-feet tall. Since then, the snowman's height has fluctuated as late winter storms have continued to dump snow even into March. He says he has kept the snowman alive with his teen daughter Rebecca. 'It started out as a small project for fun, and it's morphed into the ongoing snow saga, and it's a great thing that makes everybody smile and happy, and we're having fun with it still,' Mr Fregoe told CBS New York last week. Keeping winter alive: Mike Fregoe went to a local park every day to collect melting snow by the bucket-full to add to his snowman . Last ditch effort: Mr Fregoe pictured adding to the snowman last week, when the weather was so warm he was wearing a tank top . But since the beginning of April, the snowman began shrinking and the family started a Facebook page asking for 'snownations' to keep their beloved  Frosty alive. 'I won’t take snow from an ice skating rink or any artificial snow,' Mr Fregoe said. 'The only way this guy is going to stay alive is with the snow from this winter.' Mr Fregoe says he's received snow from people visiting the snowman from as far away as Vermont, as well as closer communities like the Hamptons. The Fregoes also did a lot of the work themselves, taking daily trips to the park to shovel melting snow by the bucket load. Ups and downs: Above, pictures of the Fregoe's snowman this winter, when he climbed to 9-feet tall after a late January snow storm . In his natural environment: The snowman pictured above on March 20, in the midst of a spring snowstorm . Getting a tan: Frosty sports a hat for St Patrick's day on the left, and is shielded from the sun on the right with an umbrella . To protect the snowman from melting faster, they also shaded him with an umbrella and comically added a bottle of suntan lotion to one of his twig arms. Last week, when Mr Fregoe spoke with CBS, temperatures had risen so much that he was shoveling snow in a tank top. The family finally gave up on Frosty on Sunday, after the snowman weathered 70-degree temperatures the day before. The announced the end of the snowman's relatively long life on Facebook. 'We have so much enjoyed meeting all you wonderful people that stopped by, called, e-mailed or posted on Facebook to us! We are honored to have become part of your lives, heard your stories...even invited you into our home. I never could have imagined the Save the Snowman idea becoming all that it has become. It has been one great ride...thank you all so very much! ...and don't be shy...say hi when u go by, we don't need a snowman to remind us that a smile and a wave goes a long way!' The family is currently storing a small ball of ice in their freezer to start a new snowman next winter.
target: The Fregoe family of Massapequa Park, New York built their own Frosty in January .
  Thanks to late winter storms that stretched into spring, the family was able to keep the snowman alive for months .
  The snowman finally melted this weekend, when temperatures reached a high of 75 on Saturday and 57 on Sunday .
  Mike Fregoe is keeping a small snowball in the freezer to start a new snowman next winter .