Teenagers are Fun...

Last night, we hosted a simple "grill party" for 2 of my friends, Anita and Deb. Both women were so much fun...relaxed, easy-going, smiling. It was so nice to set out on the deck, sipping mojitos and enjoying all of the flowers, birds, and...

TEENAGERS!

Personally, I always love it when the house is full of kids and antics. My 2 children each had a friend over...and, the Swede invited his "girlfriend" to come spend the evening with us. The kids were hilarious. They were loud, silly, obnoxious, constantly moving, and determined to turn a dull night into something memorable.

Here's a simple list of some of the stuff taking place:

1. CJP (my son) and JB (his buddy) threw rocks at each other for about 25 minutes. CJP was out in front of our home in a "parking area" near the roadway. It's covered with 1 inch rock. JB stood in a ditch kitty-corner to the property. I walked out to check on them just in time to see rocks flying through the air, set to hit each boy in the head. OK, I'll admit it. At one point, even I picked up a rock and threw it! Then, as I heard one of the boys' rocks hit dangerously close to my new car, I said, "If you hit a car, you each owe me $50, whether there's a chip/dent or not!"

2. The Swede drove our electric scooter out into the huge grass-seed field across from our property. It's a road scooter. It's not made for off-road. The Swede heard these words from me, "If you break that scooter, you'll have to pay for it!" He was riding up and down the road at that time with long strands of grass hooked onto the axles. He simply smiled and attempted to run me down.

3. 6 Teens decided to take the HUGE balls I bought a few weeks ago and play a game that involved throwing them onto the roof to see who could get closet to the peak without going over the other side. That, in itself, is not a problem. It's the fact that when a ball does go over the peak to the other side, it lands on our deck...and the deck is a living space. Plants, decor, grill...each of these items were being pummeled by the balls! I came onto the deck at one point and found my large Norfolk Pine in a big pot overturned, with large branches broken off.

4. At one point, one of our big dogs came out onto the deck to lay his head on my lap as we adults were visiting. I put my hand on his head and discovered it was COVERED with something sticky! Upon further investigation, it turns out that the teens had taken several ice cream cartons outdoors to eat them. They then proceeded to fling ice cream at each other with their spoons, "accidentally" hitting Dood on the head with a huge blop of cherry-chocolate!

5. I found an empty tequila bottle in the driveway. It was partially filled with a mystery substance. Upon investigating, it seems they tried to do an experiment with tequila, vinegar, food coloring, and baking soda.

6. At one point, Beautiful Daughter came onto the deck to ask, "Where's the BB gun?" My husband's reply, "What in the WORLD do you need a BB gun for?"

7. Beautiful Daughter was standing in the driveway. I asked, "What's all that stuff on your cheek?" Her boyfriend said, "I wrote a secret message on her cheek." Upon closer investigation, I discovered that he's used a highlighter to write, "I smell bad!" on her face.

8. When I came into the house at one time during the evening, BD and boyfriend were sitting together in my computer desk chair. I told them to quit.

9. As I was walking by my mini-van, I noticed something stuck on the back bumper. It was a "komodo" brand condom package, unopened.

10. Upon further investigation, I found several condom packages lying in different locations; side yard, stuck to a gate, in the family room. I then began asking questions and discovered that all of the kids had them. They had been passed out at the previous night's "Alternative Prom" event. None of them seems to think it's a problem...

11. There was music playing on the computer. It was somehow familiar, the voice hauntingly something I knew all too well. Upon further investigation, it appears "the boyfriend" has been creating raps online.

12. At 11 p.m. I went out to tell CJP to stop screaming in the roadway.

13. At 11:30 p.m., it was oddly quiet. That, of ALL going on throughout this entire evening, was scariest to me...

14. At midnight, I finally did a final walk-through the house to be sure all "boyfriend/girlfriend" material had gone home so that I could finally go to bed.