My neighbors rock!

I love my neighborhood...and if you've been reading my blog for a while, you already know that. But, I'm saying it again...I love my neighborhood!!

The weather in south central Kansas started to feel a little like spring today. People were running around in flip flops and shorts, the lawnmowers made their first appearance for 2007, and our BBQ grill came out of the garage. We moved it down the stairs off of our deck sometime in November because the crazy Kansas wind kept blowing the cover off...but today it came back. I had marinated chicken, and we were going to fire up the grill for dinner tonight...but we had to drag the stupid thing back up the stairs to the deck first.

So, B and I ventured out to complete this task. I had helped him take it OFF the deck a few months ago, so I should be able to handle getting it back up, right? WRONG!! I pushed and pulled, but the dang thing kept getting stuck, and we only made it up about 2 steps. B told me to trade spots with him, maybe that would work. It didn't, and right when the propane tank fell off and landed on my flip flopped feet, our neighbor from 2 doors down came out on his deck and hollered to see if we needed help. How cool is that??

B doesn't like to ask for help, but Kevin offered, so I yelled back and said, Yes! Please come help us!! 5 minutes later, he was at our front door and the grill was on the deck in no time. It's funny...at our house in CA, no one would have even been able to see that we needed help, let alone offered it -- our fences were so high and private. But here, we have wrought iron fences, and our decks are about 10 feet higher than the back yard, so Kevin could see right away that we needed help.

Kevin and his wife Avery, who are about our age, live 2 doors down from us, and next door to where my parents will live in about a year. They have 2 kids, and they are the nicest family. They moved to KS from TX about a year ago. Avery and I have become friends and we play Bunko with some other girls from the neighborhood once a month. Avery also teaches aerobics at our Y, so I take her classes as often as I can. They came over and hung out with us on New Year's Eve, and I hope we can spend more time with them as the weather continues to warm up.

Their neighborliness (is that even a word??) made up for the disrespect I got from some of the teenage boys in the neighborhood yesterday. There is a group of 3 or 4 teenage boys who like to ride their skateboards down the front steps of my neighbors houses. They don't live in these houses, in fact, I haven't been able to figure out where they live yet...but I will. When I got home from work yesterday, these boys were riding their skateboards down my next door neighbors steps. I stopped in my driveway, rolled down the window and told them to beat it. They told me I have a cool car, I said thank you, but beat it anyway.

I went inside, and about 10 minutes later, I could hear them outside again. Now they were across the street on another neighbors steps. Now I was pissed....I've caught these kids before, and I always chase them off, but they have no fear! I went outside and told them to come here. They started walking off in the other direction very quickly, so I started off after them. They kept going, I kept yelling, and then they turned around and said, "Fuck you, Bitch!" Oh, I was hot then...but I didn't feel like running after them. There was another kid with them who was just kinda hanging out, but didn't look like he belonged with them. He was on a bike, and when the boys ran off, he turned around and went the other way. He stopped and talked to me...he also lives in the neighborhood, but isn't really friends with these boys (or so he says)...but he also said he doesn't know where they live.

I went back inside and called our Association president, who said we couldn't do anything about it unless I find out where they live...so now I'm on a stalking mission to find out where these hoodlums live. They stay off my steps because mine curve and they would break their necks if they tried it...and then I would be held liable because they got hurt on my property.

Where the heck are their parents????