Editor's note: This story was originally published on April 6, 2017. It's still hilarious.
Bobby Wesson's wife, Rayena, is no stranger to her husband's pranks, but his 2017 stunt was epic. That's because it involved Wesson, their then-3-year-old son Deacon, and some errant hair clippers.
Rayena Wesson, who works as a trauma nurse, recently received a series of texts that led her to swear, threaten to drive home from work, and consider canceling her family's upcoming session with a photographer.
"She was so meticulous in planning these photos and picking out the photographer and the outfits," Wesson told TODAY Parents, explaining that his wife was so excited about the upcoming shoot that he got the idea to trick her into thinking that he and Deacon had shaved their heads while she was at work.
"Hey, can we reschedule those pictures?" Wesson asks his wife in the hilarious series of text messages.
"Why do we need to reschedule the pics, Bobby?" Rayena responds, "I swear to God you better tell me."
It's then that Wesson reveals a photo of Deacon, missing a chunk of his hair. As his wife frantically texts and calls to find out what happened, Wesson sends a follow up photo, showing blonde hair and an electric razor on the floor.
"I knew that not answering the phone was really going to set her off," said Wesson. "So I didn't."
Wesson now admits that the hair in the photo was fake — cut from a doll he purchased at the thrift store. The creative dad says he spent three weeks planning the prank, then had to wait another month before being able to execute it.
"She's a trauma nurse... there's gunshot wounds and car wrecks and whole families in really poor condition," said Wesson. "I would never dream of putting any added stress on her if she was having a really tough night like that, but then there was this one day when she got to sit down for an actual meal break and my hands were shaking because I was so excited to finally pull it off."
As the exchange continues, Wesson persuades his wife that he has given their son a full head shave, then shows her photos of him in bed, refusing to come out from under the covers because he is so upset by his appearance.
"I think he'd feel better if I shaved my head, too," Wesson suggests.
"DO NOT SHAVE YOUR HEAD," Rayena responds.
Soon after, Wesson texts a photo of himself and his son, sporting matching shaved heads.
As Rayena continues to panic, Wesson finally comes clean, admitting that the photos were Photoshopped and there has been no head-shaving. Rayena's family photo shoot can go on as planned.
Wesson says he watched Photoshop tutorials to create his prank photos, and created the convincing images himself.
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"It wasn't easy to get those things to look legit," said Wesson.
"She responded the way I thought she would — she was in hook, line and sinker," Wesson continued, adding that when she returned home from work, Rayena let him know she was already planning her revenge.
"Pranks are kind of our love language," joked Wesson.
Wesson penned a touching, viral post about his wife in 2015, calling her a hero and praising her for her ability to parent their son while saving lives in her role as a trauma nurse.
"She gets rattled at my pranks, but you put her under actual pressure in a trauma unit, and she's Cool Hand Luke," said Wesson.
During his phone interview with TODAY.com, Wesson was asked how much time elapsed between his first texts to his wife and the moment he told her it was all a joke.
"TOO LONG," Rayena Wesson yelled in the background.
Wesson's response? "Long enough."
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