...... for the purpose of catching the 'lil Bas*ards...can you tell me if I have purchased the right system and is there anything else I should purchase in advance to make my life easier. I am a complete novice so any advice would be most helpful.
Test all the equipment in the comfort of the inside. It isn't hard to learn X10... and it's a lot easier to learn it in the living room.. than climbing up and down a ladder. After you see the equipment in action... mount it outside piece by piece. Doing this will save you lots of frustration.
Don't worry about catching the 'lil Bas*ards! They're really good kids... you may even have bought lemonaide from her (the 'lil Bas*ard girl) cardtable lemonaide stand a couple summers ago. It could be... that one ('lil Bas*ard) boy is the son of the guy down the street that gave you the plumbing advice that was so helpful. In other words... these are your neighbors... be nice.
The cameras are a good deterrent. Show them to the neighbors... help the neighbors set up thier own camera setups.
Don't conceal the cameras... the kids will likely avoid your area after they are up. So the crap goes away... and the kids grow up and go to college.
Its all good.