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It is a beautiful, sunny day, but it isn’t just any ordinary day.  It is Olivia Bailey’s 8th birthday!  Olivia had been excited for her birthday to come, because her mom and dad told her they had a big surprise.  Olivia jumps out of bed and runs downstairs to the kitchen where her parents and little twin brothers are.  Olivia looks around and frowns.  She said, “Where is my surprise?  Where is the cake? Where are the decorations? I thought there was going to be a surprise.”

Her mom, Mrs. Bailey, walks around the table and gives her daughter a big hug and said, “Happy birthday, Olivia!” She continues, “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but the surprise is not a present you can unwrap.”  Olivia is upset and mad at her parents.  They told her there would be a surprise, but there is no surprise.  Mr. Bailey said, “C’mon birthday girl, I’ll drive you to school.”  Following her brothers, Olivia crosses her arms and walks out to the car.  NOTHING could cheer her up on her birthday.

As soon as Olivia shut the door, Mrs. Bailey lets out a sigh of relief. She has been planning a SURPRISE party for Olivia.  She was worried that Olivia knew about the party, but now she is worried that she is so upset.  “This party has to be the best birthday party ever to cheer up Olivia,” Mrs. Bailey said to Charlie, the family dog, who is laying on the rug.  Mrs. Bailey looks at her to-do list, then she gets to work.   

The first thing Mrs. Bailey does is look over the list of people attending the party.  She invited 11 of Olivia’s friends, but 4 of the friends cannot come.  Olivia’s twin brothers will also be there, and Olivia (of course!).  Mr. and Mrs. Bailey will both be at the party too.  Altogether, how many people will be at the party?

Guest List:

Ryan

Lacy

Emma

Jeff

Drew

Shelly

Abby

Lauren

Ben

John

Jenny

???

  In total, 12 people would be at the party.  The next thing Mrs. Bailey does is set the table.  She thinks about how many chairs to put around the table.  To Charlie, she says, “Well, Mr. Bailey and I will not be sitting, because we will take care of the food.  So, how many chairs will we need? We will need 10 chairs.”  She figures each person will need 1 glass and 2 plates; one for dinner and one for dessert.  So how many dishes will that be?

That’s 10 glasses and 20 plates total!  After the table is set, it is time to decorate.  Olivia loves parties, so Mrs. Bailey bought decorations. She hangs streamers from the ceiling, on the walls and in the doorway.  She gets carried away and doesn’t even see Charlie get tangled in the streamers!

Then, Mr. Bailey walks in the door carrying a big bunch of balloons. He says, “Wow, this place looks great!! Olivia is going to love it!!”  Mrs. Bailey turns around to say hello, but instead of saying hello, she screams, “WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BALLOONS?!”  Confused, Mr. Bailey replies, “I thought you said to pick up 40 balloons”  Mrs. Bailey puts her hands on her head and says, “No, I told you to get 4 balloons. What are we going to do with 40??” Mr. Bailey thinks and says, “I have an idea!  Each child can take balloons home with them! How many should each kid take?”

After thinking, Mr. Bailey says, “4!”  Mrs. Bailey rolls her eyes and says, “That’s great, but that still means there will be 12 balloons in our house after the party.  PLEASE try to listen to my directions next time.”  Why did Mrs. Bailey say there will be 12 balloons left at the house?

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4!!

With the house decorated, Mrs. Bailey starts organizing the games.  She sends her husband on another errand and hopes that he gets it right this time.  Olivia loves musical chairs, so Mrs. Bailey sets up the game.  To play the game, there needs to be 1 less chair than people.  There will be 10 people playing, so how many chairs does she need?