POST FALLS - When Cher Jacobsen arrived at work on Tuesday morning, it was a different world.

The decor in the patient rooms of the Post Falls family practice doctor and throughout the office had been replaced with candid photos of Dr. Larry Gibbon, her business partner.

Once again, Gibbon had celebrated April Fools' Day in style.

"Welcome to Gibbon Superior Care," Jacobsen said while reflecting on Gibbon's pranks and the office takeover.

Among the other art at the office was the head of a glass skeleton with shades, fuzzy hair and visor. It was Gibbon in his younger years, according to the nameplate at the base of the head.

"Sometimes laughter is the best medicine," Gibbon said.

With all of the changes coming down in the medical field, Gibbon said loosening up on April 1 can be just what the doctor ordered.

"Without humor, it can be tough to survive," he said.

All employees at the office Tuesday wore Team Gibbon T-shirts, and others ranging from patients to a reporter to drug reps, were given Team Gibbon name tags to be a part of the action. Staff members also partake in fun of their own from the sidelines. One of the stunts included hooking all of the paper clips together, so when one was grabbed, all were.

"We mostly stay out of it so he doesn't pull something on us," said Kris Gibbon, Gibbon's wife.

Gibbon spends weeks plotting the pranks each year.

And his main target is Jacobsen.

"She's just an April Fools' magnet," he said. "She's a saint."

One year he ran an ad in The Press congratulating an "expecting" Jacobsen on her future new arrival. Since Jacobsen doesn't have kids, it made the joke even more worthwhile, he said.

"I started getting messages at 7 a.m. congratulating me, and I even got baby gift baskets," Jacobsen said. "Three years later, I'm still hearing about it. It's the gift that keeps on giving."

There was one year when Gibbon had about 30 senior citizens bused to the office from a nursing home. Each came to Jacobsen armed with appointment cards.

Another time Jacobsen arrived to her office to find a group of stuffed bears playing poker with beer and cigarettes. One was "passed out" and wearing a diaper.

When asked how long she and Gibbon have been business partners, Jacobson said 10 years and added, with a smile, "Too damn long."

Jacobsen decided one year to return the favor on Gibbon. She spent five hours filling about 1,000 Dixie cups with water and strategically placing them in the office so picking up one could have easily triggered a domino effect and caused a big mess.

But Gibbon took care of the trap with a sweeping action in which the cups were disposed of all at once in a large garbage bin.

"I conceded to him after that and now I just wait to see what comes next," she said.

Gibbon said joking is in his blood, as his father, also a doctor, was known for pulling pranks at his office in Kellogg.

"I guess it's an inherited trait," he said.