Mom do you have Mangos?

Same time, same place.... that wild pig showed up again!  This time I was walking off the deck to the car when I looked out and there he was rooting around under the trees.  I ran back into the house yelling that the wild pig was back.  The boys ran upstairs to look out off the balcony while Caleb brought Tess in (poor thing is going to think that this is her new morning routine) then made a dash for the gun safe.  I ran around between trying to help Caleb and keep an eye out for which way the pig was going.  In the end the pig got away but Caleb was able to see it and was surprised at how big he was. (believe it or not I wasn't exaggerating when I said big)  He thinks it's at least 250 pounds.  

Wild pig two days in a row?  That's it! The boys have taken things into their own hands.  We were putting away the pool toys this evening when Colton came up to me and asked "Mom do you have Mangos"? At first I didn't get it and asked why he needed mangos.  "We need them for bait for the pig".  I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  If you have ever watched Hogs Gone Wild you would understand.  On the show there is a team that is in Hawaii that traps wild hogs and uses mangos as bait.  Well I didn't have mangos but I gave them apples, which they weren't completely convinced would work so Layton picked a pile of buckeyes off the trees to add to the bait.

Colton designed this trap.  We lost count of how many times he checked on it before he went to bed.

One end is looped so the pig's foot will get caught as it goes for the apple and the other end is tied to the tree so he can't get away.  At the dinner table I asked them what they planned to do if their trap worked.  At first their plan was to shoot it with their BB guns but then said that it wouldn't probably work since the pigs skin is to tough so they decided that they would have to use a sword.  

The boys have crazy imaginations and I love that about them.  I love dinner time when we sit down as a family at the end of the day and listen to them talk.  I love looking across the table at Caleb and making eye contact with him when they say something cute knowing that he get's it too.  Tonight was one of those night where they went on and on about catching this wild pig and Caleb and I just looked at each other thinking the same thing...."hope they won't be too disappointed when they wake up to find an empty trap"

Most boys their age watch Superman or Sponge Bob Square pants.  Imagine how excited those boys would be if Superman or Sponge Bob landed in their yard.  That's how exciting this whole wild hog thing has been for the twins. Colton asked Caleb today if we could call the Hog's Gone Wild team to come out to our place and help us trap the pig.  Knowing him he has the whole episode played out in his mind.

 So I am sure you are wondering, yes I'm a little worried.  The boys have been reminded of old rules...don't go outside without telling mom or dad and keep Tess with you at all times.  New rules have been made.... no more playing outside first thing in the morning and no more playing too far from the house.  That's the way it has to be until we know that wild pig is gone for good.

The final result.  As of right now, no pigs have caught.......

WIld Hogs, Fun in the Sun and Chickens

I am loving summer vacation just as much as the boys.  I only leave the house when I work which has been about 3 days a week.  The other days we've been spending out by the pool. It's been nice to have quiet mornings.  Well, they have been quiet until this morning.  After getting up and making myself a cup of tea I walked into the boys room to open up their blinds.  I looked out the window and believe it or not there was a very big wild hog!  Thank goodness I just put our dog Tess outside and fed her so she hadn't left the deck yet so I quickly brought her back inside and ran upstairs with the boys.  I have to explain how exciting this was for them.  Their favorite show on TV is Hogs Gone Wild.  When they play, most of the time they are pretending to hunt wild hogs.  So to see a real live one outside was just about the best thing that could have happened.  So we watched it root around by the pool fence until it ran off.  Unfortunately Caleb missed out on all the excitement because he has been gone in Yosemite rock climbing this weekend.  Then again maybe it was a good thing because if he was home, Tess would have been outside sooner and I'd hate to think what would have happened if she saw that hog.

Pictures of our week....

































The boys practicing their roping.  Love how their minds work and they come up with stuff to duplicate things they have seen.  They took turns all morning, one roping and the other being the steer.

It is amazing how much time these two spend in the water.  We are out there usually from 12 to 5:30.  What amazes me the most is that when they go to bed they don't fall asleep immediately.  

 

This summer I actually feel a little left out and a little lonely.  I sit and watch them play in the pool for hours on end in their own little world.  Then again I shouldn't complain, they are happy to have each other and that's all that matters.

One of the things we have added this summer are chickens.  Here the boys are holding Ruby Mae (Layton) and Dottie (Colton).  It's been fun for the boys to have them around.  So far we have 4 and hope to get a few more soon.  We have a feeling that Dottie actually should be Dale. I read that the white spot on her head is the markings of a rooster.

The two older chickens, Pecker and Henny Penny have enough feathers now where we can put them outside during the day.  Again we have a feeling that Henny Penny should be Henry.  The comb on Henny Penny is much larger than Peckers.  

 Remember about the hunting boots?  Here in Arroyo Seco is one of the few places where you can wear your tighty whitey's with hunting boots out to the chicken coop to bring in the chickens in for the night.

Mutton Busting

This weekend was Big Week and here at the Rightmyer household it couldn't come fast enough.  The boys have always loved going to the rodeo.  The last time that I rode in the flag pagent there were 2.  I'd take them to practice with me and let them play in the horse trailer till my mom got off work to come pick them up and take them home.  Back then their favorite part of the rodeo was watching mommy ride and the water trucks watering the track.  

Now they are almost 6 and it was their turn to be in the rodeo and their favorite part was the bull fighting.  (I don't even think they noticed the water trucks).  

They were so excited to be in the mutton busting competition.  They counted down the days, told everyone they saw about it, and talked about it every night before they fell asleep. Plus Grandpa told them that he'd pay them a quarter for every second that they stayed on.  

To make things even more exciting, after we signed in we ran into one of their best friends Hunter Vaccarezza and he was in the competition too!

Layton, Colton and Hunter

First night of the Rodeo was Tough Enough to wear pink, a breast cancer campaign. 

My little cowboys....

They were by far the most handsome ones there. 

Getting set up for the mutton busting.

Colton getting geared up for his ride.

Layton all smiles amd read to go.

He looks like a real pro.  

At this point he is still wanting to ride.

Colton in the chute getting a grip on that sheep.....

2 seconds later his ride is over...  

So proud of my boy.  He did it and now Grandpa owes him 2 quarters.  Where ever you are Grandpa you better pay up.  He is telling everyone that Grandpa is giving him 2 quarters for staying on for 2 seconds!  

Colton is very competitive and of course wanted to know what the prize would be if he won.  We told him that it was a belt buckle.  He looked at me and said, "If I win the belt buckle mom I'll let you wear it"  and just like that my heart melted into one big puddle.  

He didn't win the buckle but I'm sure he will win one in his future.

Once Layton saw his brother fall off he changed his mind in a hurry.  Here I am talking to him but his mind was made up.  No way was he going to get on.  He told me "when I turn 6 I'll do it."  Later that night as we were leaving he said "You know, even when I turn 6 and 7 I still don't want to do it".  

 

My sweet Layton, never the risk taker.  Isn't he the most handsome boy?  Just looking at this picture makes my heart skip a beat.

It was a night of memories for all of us.  It was their first time to compete in the rodeo but will it be their last?  Time will tell.....

Just a little more independent

Our weekend ended up being busy but lots of fun. 

We recently got a new tent and so we put it up for the first time.  Of course the boys were really excited about it and decided that they wanted to sleep in it over night.

 After talking about it they decided that they wanted to sleep out there by themselves....

with Tess as back up. 

 We pulled out the old baby monitor, set it up in the tent, gave the boys a kiss good night, gave Tess an extra scratch behind the ears and went inside and I cried...

  Caleb and I listened to them over the baby monitor.  They talked about how excited they were to be camping out, they talked about the moon coming up over the mountain.  I waited and waited to hear them talk about how much they missed being inside with mom but it never came up in conversations so I cried...

We heard a few yawns and a few groans from Tess and shortly after they fell asleep so I cried a little more....

Just like that my boys became a little more independent.

The next day Grandpa Hal came over.  After swimming in the pool we took a walk down to the creek .

Colton heading down stream to work on a dam that the boys have been working on with Caleb.

Latyon spashing in the the water.  You can see it was a good year with rain.  Normally this time of year the creek is just about dried up.

Colton relaxing it with true Arroyo Seco style.  I have a love hate relationship with these Bogg hunting boots.  They wear these boots ALL THE TIME!

They are the only kids that wear hunting boots when it's 110 degrees outside.

They are the only kids that strip naked to go swimming but wear boots out to the pool

They are the only kids at school that ran track in boots. 

Their teacher at school even asked me why they wore these boots every day.  I informed her that yes they had tennis shoe but they preferred boots.  What can I say...at least I'm getting my moneys worth out of them.

I don't work Mondays so it was another day at home for me and the little boys hanging out by the pool.  The amount of time these two are in the water I'm surprised they haven't started growing fins.

 Colton is always trying out new tricks.  Here he is jumping off the rock trying to get his feet up on the kick board and land in the water like he is surfing.

 By the end of the day he almost had it mastered.  

Our history of Piney Creek

Having Piney Creek run through the bottom part of our 16 acres out here in Arroyo Seco has always been a plus.  Three out of the seven years that we have lived here it has run year round.  One of my favorite things about it is leaving the door to our bedroom open at night and hearing it run.  There is nothing like falling asleep to the sound of a running creek.  Over the years my love for our little creek has changed....

 Here I am 8 months pregnant with the boys.  Our pool wasn't finished yet so I spent the summer down in the river soaking my swollen feet in the cool water.  

Layton and Colton's first trip down to the river.  They are 3 weeks old.  

They always have loved going down and playing in the water. Here they are a year old.  You can see that the water level was down this year.  

This is the view of our house from down below.

My twin boys walking back up to the house after playing in the creek.  

This was back in March of this year (2011).  We just had a ton of rain and took a walk to see how fast the creek was running.  Amazing how fast it can grow after a rainstorm.

So that is Piney Creek over the years.  Hope you all enjoy the stories of our many adventures that we have out here on the sunny side of the creek.