It . . . it . . . it's GONE!!!

And what's that, you ask?  Winter?  Well, that certainly would fit the category, but it sure wouldn't get such a response.  Yay for Spring!!!

(Beautiful Daffodils blooming nearby . . .)

Hmmmmm . . . the hour we lost Saturday night?  Boy! wasn't that a bummer!  Never did like the idea of giving up time so we could save it. : P

But the warmth of Spring has brought about a phenomenon in our household.  Are you ready?  Have you been held in suspense long enough?  (Just hope you weren't holding your breath!)

Ray's beard is GONE!!!!  (gasp!)  Yup.  Just try roofing in 70 degree weather with a wool scarf around your neck.  Just about as painful.  And we knew that if he kept getting darker and darker without shaving the beard, when it got to be 100 degrees and there was no choice but to shave, he would look rather funny with a white beard-mark on his near-to-black face.  (Sara did want him to keep it through the middle of April, but that was out of the question.)  So last night we had a beard-shaving party complete with pictures.  It was SO much fun!

Before ~ all ready for the inevitable.

Allison had the honors. : )

The first swipe was the most painful (no, it didn't actually physically hurt unless the hair got caught in the clippers and plucked it instead of cutting it.  That HURT!).

Yes, Ray . . . you have a gap in your beard, and, no, you can't change your mind now! : )

Recalling fond memories . . . Hahaha!!!!

And to make it more interesting . . .

. . . a swipe up the middle.

Charming, Ray . . . just charming . . . : )

Does this not remind you of the forests where they clear a swipe of trees for the power lines???

He gave up on this one very quickly.

Especially when he got hair in his mouth.  Wasn't quite what he had in mind. : )

Hair doesn't come out as easy as it went in, ya know. : )

Ewww . . . Wow!  Looking pretty scary, here.

Poor guy looks like he's really been through it.

Of course, Allison was having a grand ol' time trying to make him look the silliest before all the hair was gone.

Not sure which she was doing more of ~ laughing or shearing ~ but one thing is certain . . . she did NOT do both at one time. : )  Giggling was permitted as long as the hand remained steady. : )

Feels funny!

Just gotta love the tuft!  He didn't want her to gap his sideburns, so she left that for Mom to trim up afterward.

Oh, boy!  Now for the mustache!

. . . now that the beard is off.

(She was laughing because the clippers tickled his nose.)

Stubble . . .

She came back without the guard to get a closer shave.

That tickles!

???

Oh, no!  She's coming at me again!!!

Deep concentration . . .

He had to get used to this. : )

Uh, oh . . . he's having withdrawals.  Hahaha!!!

Heehee!  Now it's her turn to get hair in her mouth!

What a look of despondency! : )

Now, if he could only grow it that well on top!

We'll fix that!

We had been joking about how he wasn't growing a beard . . . he was growing his toupee!

Mom took over from here.  As mentioned before, he just didn't trust Allison with his sideburns (with good reason!).

(It plucked him.)  Haha!

The funny thing was, his "toupee" stayed put no matter what position he was in . . . even bending over!

Shaved and showered . . . (drum roll, please . . .)

Well!  That was the same guy hiding behind there, wasn't it?!?

We have to admit ~ he did wear the beard well, and the scary part is that we had actually gotten used to it!

So here are the before and after pictures.  We all thought he shed a few years. : )

And your thoughts???

Disclaimer: While we wouldn't normally post about one of our menfolk shaving (obviously!), this was a little more momentous occasion that friends from near and far were keeping tabs on. : )