They're baaaccckkk!!!!!!

Last night Z went out the back door to go to the carport to cut up some pallet and firewood. He was only outside for a few seconds when he came back and said "Honey, come out here a minute..." I stepped out onto the sidewalk and he said "Listen...." I kept straining to hear whatever it was he wanted me to hear......and then, I heard it. Howling. Then yipping and barking, then more howling. Yep, the coyotes are back. Mixed in the the yipping and howling I heard some dogs barking, that sounded like it was coming from beyond the woods behind our house......then, we heard two gunshots ring out. We're not sure if the coyotes were in someones yard and their dogs were going nuts, or if the coyotes were actually going after the dogs. (most people keep their dogs outside around here.....bugs the heck out of me!) After we heard the gunshots, we heard no more yipping and howling. Now, the first coyote sounds I heard came from a huge field on the other side of our road, not from behind the house. So I can only assume there are a pack of coyotes once again roaming around. Tyler has been told he can not be outside at all unless Z or I are with him, AND our dog Licky is out. I do let Ty play outside by himself, but only if I am in the kitchen and he is on his swing set, which I can see through the kitchen window at all times, or if he plays on the porch outside the kitchen door while i'm cooking dinner. And both of those times he's only out for just a few minutes, and our dog Licky is out with him as well. We've also contacted the game warden to let them know that the coyotes are back and they said they would be keeping an eye out. The only reason this is such a big deal around here is, the last time they were in the area a neighbor of ours had a standoff with the leader of the pack, who tried to attack her dog and was NOT afraid of her or backing down from her when she tried to get her dog away. Ahhh, the joys of living out in the boonies!!!!!