Caleb the Private Detective

Hidden Valley Golf Course, where Caleb has worked for the past five years, was broken into twice in one month. The first break-in happened on a Sunday. When the window was shattered, the alarm sounded and scared the guys off. Unfortunately, they came back the very next Sunday. The window hadn’t been fixed yet, and the pro shop was still boarded up. Since no glass was broken this time, the alarm didn’t go off, and about $4,000 worth of golf clubs were stolen.

Caleb loves working at Hidden Valley, and he really likes his boss, Brad, so he was understandably upset that someone was able to break in and steal so much of their equipment. His first idea was what he called a “sting operation,” which involved him sleeping at the course on a Sunday night and catching the guy in the act. That idea was quickly shut down, and we also had to review the fact that he is not allowed to shoot someone under any circumstances.

Once he accepted that this probably wasn’t the best plan, he moved on to Plan B: tracking down the stolen clubs on Facebook Marketplace. Caleb sells golf clubs on Facebook all the time. He knows what every club is worth and is familiar with the main sellers in the area. He also learned that golf clubs have serial numbers, so he gathered the serial numbers from the stolen clubs and started watching listings online.

It didn’t take long. About a week later, a couple of kids listed some very high-priced golf clubs, advertising them as brand new—but without head covers. Caleb immediately knew that was a red flag since all new clubs come with head covers when purchased.

That’s when Phase 2 began. Caleb started messaging the kids and arranged a meeting to look at the clubs. At our request, he chose a very public location. Once he met with them and inspected the clubs, he knew he had his guys. While discreetly checking serial numbers, he noticed something else that caught his attention—several clubs had dried blood on them. During the break-in, the thief had cut his hand and left a large smear of blood on the pro shop counter.

Caleb acted unsure about whether he wanted to spend that much money and told them he’d get back to them. Then he stepped fully into his private investigator role. He told his boss what he had discovered, and together they contacted the police and coordinated a plan for a second meetup to purchase the clubs.

Caleb came home from school on Monday to finish the sting operation he had started. He went to the meetup location, accompanied by four unmarked police cars. Once he pointed out the seller, the cops boxed him in and arrested him. The guys were 18–19 years old, and Caleb said they were about as stupid as could be. One of them even asked the officer if he could text “Kale Lutz” to let him know he wouldn’t be able to meet him to sell the clubs—pretty funny.

The second guy was caught the same way. One is being charged with felony theft and breaking and entering, while the other received a lighter punishment since he was mainly helping his friend sell the stolen clubs.

Caleb takes his job seriously, and he wasn’t about to let some punk kid walk away with $4,000 worth of stolen equipment. While I’m not entirely comfortable with him playing private investigator for safety reasons, I couldn’t be more proud of him.

Better Late than Never

When we looked at our December schedule this year, it quickly became clear that an extended family Christmas with my side of the family just wasn’t going to happen. Every weekend was already full, and instead of trying to cram one more thing in, we decided to take some of the stress out of it and plan our celebration for after Christmas instead.

Since Cindy doesn’t love to travel, it made the most sense to gather at her house, where she lives with Jess and her family. Jess was gracious enough to offer to host as long as we kept things simple — which was honestly perfect. We ordered pizza, brought soda, and I brought a couple of desserts. Nothing fancy, very low-stress, but it was really nice to be together and catch up.

Abby had already committed to a babysitting job when I planned this, which made me feel bad. I didn’t know she had picked it up, and she didn’t know about the gathering until the week before. Thankfully, it worked out okay. Abby had seen Cindy a couple of weeks earlier when we dropped off Cindy’s flower subscription with Steph, so it didn’t feel quite as disappointing.

I won’t lie, no one really tells you how to navigate the relationship with your dad’s wife after your dad is gone. It’s uncharted territory in a lot of ways. But we’re doing what works for us, and it feels right. My kids have always known Cindy as Grandma, and while I was too old when they got married to ever think of her as a stepmom, I do truly appreciate her place in my life.

It’s also been a gift to gain Jess as a bonus sibling. She is always sweet, welcoming, and kind to us, and it makes gatherings like this feel warm and easy. It may not have been a traditional Christmas celebration, but it was meaningful in its own way and sometimes that’s exactly what you need. 

 

Travel Day

Travel days are always stressful, but as the kids have gotten older, they’ve definitely gotten easier. That said, a 4:30 a.m. departure is still rough — especially for some of us. Bryce had been the designated driver for his friends the night before and didn’t get home until around 2:00, so sleep was minimal. For me, it wasn’t quite as bad since that’s about the time I’d get up for an early shift at work anyway.

Travel days are always stressful, but as the kids have gotten older, they’ve definitely gotten easier. That said, a 4:30 a.m. departure is still rough especially for some of us. Bryce had been the designated driver for his friends the night before and didn’t get home until around 2:00, so sleep was minimal. For me, it wasn’t quite as bad since that’s about the time I’d get up for an early shift at work anyway.

Thankfully, everything was packed and loaded into the vehicles the night before. All we had to do was roll out of bed, get dressed, and go. We’ve officially reached the stage of life where two vehicles are required especially when luggage is involved.

We flew out of Omaha at 8:00 a.m., with our first flight taking us to Dallas. After a couple-hour layover, we boarded our second flight from Dallas to Puerto Vallarta, arriving around 4:00 p.m. From there, we made our way through customs and found our transportation. We had also rented a car, so Robb, Bob, Andy, and Aaron headed off to pick that up — with plans to stop at Costco to stock up on snacks. Unfortunately they found out the the Costco in Mexico is not open on Jan 1 since it is a holiday.

The drive to the house took a little over an hour, thanks to rush-hour traffic. I was very grateful not to be the one driving, because traffic in parts of Mexico is… an experience. A little chaotic, a little terrifying.

When we finally arrived at the house, vacation could officially begin. And wow the villa was amazing. Every adult had their own room with a bathroom and balcony. The girls shared a large room with a bathroom, and the boys had a big room of their own as well. The weather was perfect, the view of the pool was beautiful, and it immediately felt like we had arrived somewhere special.

The chef had even left dinner warming for us, which was such a thoughtful touch. However, there was a small moment of stress when the food wasn’t labeled gluten-free. After a full day of airports and very little real food, Abby had a breakdown trying to figure out what she could and couldn’t eat. At that point, you could tell the long travel day had caught up with everyone.

What we all really needed was a good night’s sleep and some sunshine the next day. Despite the exhaustion and a few bumps along the way, we were finally there together, settled in, and ready for vacation to truly begin.