the worst neighbors ever

Wow, I bet it was. I have spoken to the parents of the children who do those things, but they had the attitude that boys will be boys. I have a son and would never let him act that way. I guess maybe the parents are the problem. I think my neighbors own their house, so I think I will either have to move or just wait for the kids to get older and move out. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I have definitely spoken to the parents. Like you said, I think the children are miniatures of their parents. Things calm down for about a week, then they go back to the way they were. Unfortunately I don't live in a house that has a HOA. I have thought about calling the police, but am concerned that nothing would be done, and I would still have them as neighbors.

Well the police would have to respond, for domestic issues. If nothing else maybe they will get sick of the police showing up at their door. Especially when they are on your property that you either own or rent. If its not a public area, then you have every right. You as a homeowner/owner deserve and have the right to a certain amount of "peace".

I'm sorry to hear that you are also experiencing inconsiderate neighbors. Mine used to have a very large dog that they let outside in the early morning hours. It would literally howl for an hour around 6 in the morning. They also let it out at night. It sometimes howled after 11 pm. They got rid of the dog, so that helped a lot. If I had to choose, I think I would rather have the dog back and have the people gone:)

Yes, taking things from people's mailboxes is illegal. I didn't figure it out until I didn't receive my acceptance letter to college. My academic adviser called to find out why I hadn't registered for classes. I did end up receiving the acceptance letter a week later. It had been opened and was put back into my mailbox. The same thing was done with one of my son's birthday cards. They opened it and put it back in our mailbox. I called the post office and they said they would investigate it, but I never heard back from them.
The ice cream thing would really irritate me. I have the same problem with trash, especially cigarette butts. The cigarette butts haven't been as much of a problem since one of them started a small fire a few months ago. They used to flick their cigarettes over our fence. They were also throwing napkins and other trash over the fence. Well, one of the cigarettes caught a napkin on fire. Thankfully, the deck did not catch on fire. I went right over to their house when I found it and complained to the dad. I think it is the first complaint he has really taken seriously. I mentioned that the houses are really close together and said that I didn't think he would want his house to burn as well. I find the cigarette butts in the front yard, but never on the deck anymore.
I like your idea about calling the authorities about that boat. That wasn't safe to have it there.

Thanks Erin for the BR. How old are these kids anyway? At first I imagined them to be in 10-12 but now it seems like they are older than that? Their parents need to teach them responsibility. OOOooooOOooH, I don't like these neighbors of yours and I haven't even met them. Thanks again.