I know I'm getting wordy this morning, but I had to tell y'all:
A couple days ago I told y'all I had to tell a few girls at lunchtime that they couldn't swim in our pool since we're never around. That afternoon, I came home from work and found a mess of duct tape scattered around my deck and in my yard. Also, the new swim goggles that Nancy bought for Elizabeth were gone.
My neighbor said that as soon as I left for work after lunch, she saw those girls climb my railing and jump in the pool. Then the girls found a roll of duct tape that I had left out and they tore it up into little pieces and threw it everywhere.
When I heard that, I looked across the street where the girls live and they were playing in their yard. I drove across the street, and they seemed so surprised when I stopped. They were still wet in their clothes. I said, "You girls went in my pool after I said you couldn't, didn't you?" They both had that deer-in-headlights look, and one of them nodded. I said, "And you made a mess in my yard with the roll of tape and took the new goggles, didn't you?" Same look, same girl nodded.
I told them that I wasn't going to their parents with it this time, but that they were not allowed in our yard again. I really hate doing that, but I can't abide retaliatory children who don't like being told no.
I heard later that day that another neighbor had to run them out of their pool after finding them in there uninvited. They had lied to the man who handles my neighbor's landscaping, saying they had permission.
It sounds like these children's parents need to start doing their job. I don't know them, they are recent renters, but they are never outside and the girls are just running around wild.
If I get many more complaints about these girls, the mayor might have to make a visit. :x