VIDALIA &8212; Friends made sure Ryan Graves&8217; 20th birthday this weekend was colorful in more ways than one.

On Saturday morning, Graves woke up at his Holly Street home to find his beloved Ford Escort covered with multicolored balloons.

Blue, yellow and red &8220;Happy Birthday&8221; streamers had been wound around the body of the car and every outside fixture.

There were also homemade construction paper signs on every window, proclaiming message such as &8220;UR loved.&8221;

&8220;I was afraid they&8217;d used duct tape,&8221; Graves said. He was just waking up Sunday afternoon from a late birthday celebration in Baton Rouge the night before.

Instead, friends Greg, Sarah and Trasa carefully secured everything to the car with cloth tape so the finish wouldn&8217;t come off. That&8217;s what friends are for &8212; and they&8217;re also for whisking one away to a celebration on a moment&8217;s notice.

On Saturday night, they took him to Baton Rouge to eat dinner and celebrate at a club. &8220;He came in at 5:30 in the morning&8221; on Sunday, said his mother, Kim Graves. &8220;My mother would have never let me get away with that.&8221;

But Ryan Graves, a student at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez, figured this one was special.

&8220;You&8217;re not a teenager any more,&8221; he said, removing decorations.