Undesirable Neighbors

We have these neighbors across the street. They moved in 2 years ago and I cannont stand their kids. There is one Brooklyn's age and another Damon's age. The parents are the type that allow their kids to pretty much run wild, they seem to have no rules or boundaries. I often see these kids riding their bikes without helmets up and down Canyon Road. (For those of you unfamiliar with my neighborhood, Canyon Road gets quite a bit of traffic during certain times of the day and people often drive much faster than they should.) They also roam the neighborhood freely and are often out past dark and sometimes they are out in the mornings (in the summer) in their pajamas with their breakfast smeared all over their faces and I'm not sure the parents have clue where their offspring may be. Although I find these things bothersome, not to mention dangerous, thats not what really gets to me. My issue is the way these kids seem to have no respect for others or property belonging to others. Shortly after they moved in, these 2 kids dragged their moving boxes to my backyard. I guess they thought they were going to make a fort or something. Nothing was built and they didn't bother to take the boxes home. The next day when they came to play, I made them drag their garbage home, I didn't want it! And speaking of garbage, they've actually brought real garbage over a time or two. I have no idea why or what they were wanting to accomplish by this. They also bring their toys to our yard and leave them. Once again, I don't want their stuff and I don't want to be responsible for it. Often their bikes get left in our driveway and sometimes overnight. Its very possible that Brent could run over one when he comes home late from work or I could hit one while backing out of the driveway in the early morning on my way to the gym. I don't want to have to replace things we may damage because of someone else's stupidity.

These kids take things out of my garage like my gardening tools and strew them all over my front yard, then when they get bored, they leave the mess and go home. They've also been known to steal popsicles out of the freezer in my garage, and when I confronted them, they lied to me without batting an eyelash. Occasionally, these two use words or call names I do not wish to have my children repeating. I'm really sick and tired of this. Thankfully, this family is only renting their current residence, they didn't buy it, so eventually they'll leave. Just wish I knew how much longer I had to endure but I think it would impolite to walk up and say, "So, when are you moving?"

I am not looking forward to another summer full of frustration caused by these kids. Last week after they dragged stuff out of my garage and left a bunch of paper plates scattered in my driveway, and I had clean it up, I told my own kids they are no longer allowed to play with these two. If my munchkins are outside and the neighbors show up, my troops have to put their stuff away and come in the house or head to the backyard. Its kind of not fair to my own kids and I realize its un-neighborly of me, but I am SICK of it! I'm sure you're wondering why I don't go talk to the parents about my concerns. Well, honestly, if thought it would do any good, I probably would. But as I mentioned at the beginning of my post, the padres don't seem to care what the kids are doing. The silver lining in the whole situation is that both parents work. So during the day the kids are shuttled off to a babysitter and I don't have to worry about them until around dinner time and on Fridays because that's Mom's day off. Oh, and then there is also the occasional morning, around 8:00 when they knock on our front door with pastry on their faces and clothes (pajamas) asking to play.

You're welcome to leave comments about this post however, don't tell me how awful I am. I already know and frankly, I don't care.