Shadowing Practice: Secret Sleepover in a Gymnastics Gym! - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Tonight we're having a secret sleepover because this gymnastics coach said
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No sleepovers at the gym.
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This is an after Mattel and my friend Elena thinks she can make a better sleepover than me no matter what.
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So I get an entire gymnastics gym to make my sleepover and you get my house.
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That's not fair because a gymnastics gym is way more fun.
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But you said you can make yours better no matter what.
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Okay, you know what?
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We're gonna have to compete for it.
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Whoever gets wet has to use the house.
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Guess this.
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My strategy is to use moves from Barbie and the Nutcracker because I don't think
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Anna knows valet moves.
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A leg pull trick?
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You didn't get that right, so you're losing a string.
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I'm going to do a really quiet move.
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Maybe a needle?
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An illusion?
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Looks like you're getting wet soon, Anna.
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Back walk over.
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I might not be the person that's getting wet.
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That was definitely a split jump.
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A bridge?
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I feel like you were upside down.
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That sounded like a walkover to me.
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Three, two, one!
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That means I don't get to use the gym, which changes my entire plan.
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You know what?
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You've wanted to make a sleepover at the gym for a while now, so I'll let you use the gym.
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Wait, really?
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Okay, I need to dry off and get to the gym so fast.
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While I go to set up my sleepover in the gym, the coach is still there,
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and we only have one hour until mystery judges are coming to pick the winner.
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My plan is simple.
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First, I'm going to set up a bunch of fun activities for the sleepover.
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Then I'm going to build a secret room.
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That way we can stay as long as we want without the coach ever noticing us.
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I don't think I need a plan for this, but I do want a cool setup,
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so I need to find the best spot in Anna's house to make the best sleepover.
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I barely have any time to make a secret room,
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but I think I have an idea if I go under these beams and then use this blanket like a roof,
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no one will ever see us having a sleepover.
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And I didn't know you were still at the gym.
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Yeah, I was just training.
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This is really good to put on the beam so you can do over splits.
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It's really soft so you don't have like a hard beam to do a split on.
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Oh, that's a good idea.
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Yeah.
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Okay, let me know if you need anything.
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Okay, well, I'll just be stretching.
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That spot is way too close to the coach's desk, but Elena might have found a really good spot for her sleepover.
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I feel like this is perfect.
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We have nice comfortable couches look at this maybe have like a projector here
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and have like a movie going on i'm going to make my sleepover barbie
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and the nutcracker themed because i just watched the movie
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and it was so good
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that i want to watch it again in our sleepover tonight wait spider spider
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i can't deal with books no we're not doing outside
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there's too many spiders i got a bunch of things for the theme
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that i'll show you soon and i think this pink air track would match everything perfectly
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so let's see if we can use this as the walls to our secret room i can definitely hide behind it
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this is not going to work at all i'm running out of time
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i think anna's room is actually the best option
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because we already have like little comfy pillows and a nice bed
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and we have a tv so we can watch a movie
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but all i need now is more stuff to make
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this an even better room we're gonna make the best sleepover anna
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you're going down luckily i know a wadeville secret room in a gym
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that works every time first i need to see what i have to decorate
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it with there's five things i need for a sleepover
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and definitely the first thing i want to get is popcorn for a movie night
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i'm thinking three different types of popcorn let's get garlic butter
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we need to get the kettle corn fiery hot sounds amazing
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i'm gonna have a good movie night what's next on the list guys i just realized
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that there's five boxes here and there were supposed to be six to have everything
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that i wanted to make my sleepover
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i have no clue what's missing hopefully one of these boxes has two things inside
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I need to find pajamas next so they have to be really comfy.
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I think I'm gonna get these and it's like a little matching set so this will be perfect.
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I think I'm gonna get some for me, Anna, and the judges.
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Wait actually I don't know the judges sizes so just me and Anna.
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Let's start with this one.
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Wait I think this is exactly what I need to make my sleepover
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Barbie and the Nutcracker themed.
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It's the Clara doll and the Sugar Plum doll.
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Let's open these and see what they're like.
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Okay I have to shop really quickly because the judges are gonna come over real soon so we better get going.
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I think this will be perfect to decorate my sleepover so the judges get super excited for a movie night.
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I think I need some lights to make my sleepover look so cool.
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Oh this one is perfect for my sleepover because it's so cute.
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I actually need to hurry up.
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I've been taking too much time.
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We have more things to get.
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Let's get going.
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The next thing I got for my sleepover is a TV because obviously you need this to have the ultimate movie night.
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I need some pillows but these are way too basic.
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That leaves me with just this one.
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Why is there only one pillow left she's coming with me
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i have barely even started setting up my sleepover yet
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so i need to open everything really fast come on i need to go quickly oh wait this is
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so cute i don't think elena's sleepover is going to have a theme hopefully
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this helps mine win i think within this next box we'll have something
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that goes perfectly with that it's the chelsea ballerinas I bet
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Anna's gonna have a secret room to hide from the - coach so
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that means i need a secret room too
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i was going to use a picture frame as the door these picture frames are way too small
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so i'm gonna have to think of something else a bookshelf
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might be a really good idea oh why is it heavy do you even have time to build all
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this i'm building this it's not already built it's like gonna build itself i have an idea come with me
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there's only one box left in here so i hope this has everything
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that i got to make my sleepover the best one these
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are outfits inspired by what they wear in the barbie
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and nutcracker movie but i just realized
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that i'm missing the most important outfit it looks like it's on the way right now
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but it doesn't say
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when it's going to get here i hope
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it gets here soon otherwise my sleepover is not going to be as on theme as i planned
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this is all we need all right everything is gonna fall off the judges are coming in 30 minutes now
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and whoever wins gets what's in this mystery prize oh
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i have to go quick no no i have to go quick
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because the judges are coming while Elena heads back to my house.
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I found the best spot to set up.
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This is the furthest spot from the coach's desk.
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I don't think she'll catch me if I set it up over here.
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I want to use this stretch bar like a ballet leg lift challenge.
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So whichever judge can get to the highest balloon is going to win this challenge.
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I'm not sure if the judges are flexible, but I still hope they think this is fun.
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Now we're back in Anna's room.
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My idea was to turn her bed into a sleepover pillow fort.
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You can put this up here.
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I think I need another pillow.
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i'm going to use the rest of the stretch ladders to do a makeover section
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so here we have pajamas inspired by the movie
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i need to set this up really quick i'm thinking this will look good right here like this
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and then maybe we'll put the other one here there's literally only like 15 minutes until they're coming now
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and i haven't even set up my secret room i think this looks super cute
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but i'm still missing the most important outfit
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it was supposed to go right here i really hope it arrives soon wait okay we're good more pillows
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so you know we get to
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keep the fort stable maybe like right here looks like a little palace to me next step is to cover
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this with a blanket to make it a nice fort
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but i also wonder how anna sleepover is going
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because i know mine is gonna be way better
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now we have some outfits to complete the makeover spot
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we also need some makeup the floor is done look it's awesome
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and now i need to decorate
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because this isn't enough we need to make it fun
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and cool obviously at house sleepover we need a bed
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and i think this one is super comfy because it is
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so soft and a super comfy blanket this is really close to being a perfect bed
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but i think it definitely needs some pink pillows i think this is perfect it looks
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so comfy plus we set up the cutest spot to watch the movie and i even have a trampoline in my sleepover.
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There's no way that you can do a sleepover in my house that's more fun than this.
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Unless Alina is getting really creative.
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I'm thinking like a staircase into the palace.
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Like beautiful staircase.
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I'll use this blanket for the inside.
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I have two more pillows I can use.
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No actually I don't like that.
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I'm gonna switch this.
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Kind of a vibe.
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Wait it looks better.
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Okay now we just need to add all the lights
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we bought my sleepover is almost done now i just need the secret room
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so the coach does not see me i'm thinking
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this can be the first wall i have an idea of how i'm going to make this work
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and no one is going to be able to see me at all i just need another wall
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and i think this mat is perfect there's like five minutes left
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now we need to fix this wall perfect i think this mat could be the roof since it's right here
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so we put all the lights in
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and it's really pretty like look all the hanging lights i think this is perfect
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but now we have to put food in here
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because it's not a party without a snack i know they're gonna come any minute now
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so i better hurry up this is almost a secret room
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but if i just sit here like this you can obviously see me
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so we just need something in front of the room to make it secret
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and since we're in a gymnastics gym and neither gymnastics max no one will suspect anything
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You know what we are missing?
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I would love to do gymnastics with Anna, so I think a nice gymnastics mat right here would be perfect.
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Let me go grab that.
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This mat should be perfect to do the wall.
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Guys, it just said package arrived.
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I think this is a missing outfit.
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I think this is perfect.
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The judges are not going to be expecting this.
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Anna, what's with the tutus?
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They're so cool.
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Well, I didn't want to tell you, but me and my friend are doing a competition to see who can make the best sleepover.
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So I was thinking the best sleepover would be a Barbie in the Nutcracker themed one at the gymnastics gym.
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So I was kind of setting up a sleepover here and I kind of want to stay.
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Yeah.
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So are you going to let me stay and do a sleepover here?
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I already have it like almost all set up.
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If you win, you can have a sleepover.
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Okay, I need to make mine really good then.
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This fits perfectly right here, but I need to get changed so fast
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because the judges could be here any minute
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and now I really want my sleepover to win
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so we can stay the night at jam okay one advantage i have over anna is this unlimited makeup
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and i hope the judges love it
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because this is going to be amazing i think the judges are here i have to go get them
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welcome in guys are you guys ready to see the best
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sleepover ever yes let's go come with me follow me guys i have the outfit on this is actually
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so cute i've never worn something like this before
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so this is totally different at this point the judges could be here any second
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i feel I feel like you're probably already at Alina's, so I need to get this up quick because I can't have an unfinished secret room.
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Welcome to the must sleepover ever.
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Wow.
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Wait, that's so good.
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So first we have water and popcorn.
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We have three different flavors.
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Feel free to try.
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We get to eat it while watching a movie on this TV.
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Oh my gosh.
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And then this gymnastics match for us to do all the gymnastics skills we want to.
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So you guys can just do like a bop -pop over.
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Oh, Gino?
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Oh, yeah, yeah.
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Y 'all want to try?
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Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure.
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We'll flip, we'll flip, we'll flip.
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Gino?
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Woo, ah!
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Ah!
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Yeah!
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That was really good!
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Yo, shoot, I'm so messed. So long.
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Oh.
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Oh, what is he?
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I did it!
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That was so good.
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Oh, oh, oh.
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Oh my god!
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Oh my god!
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Oh my god!
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Sorry!
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No wait!
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Faye!
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Me?
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Can I do a backbend and then kick over?
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Yes!
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I'll do that!
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That's better than what Gina did!
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Oh my gosh!
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Okay!
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Wow!
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Anyone can do that!
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Go Faye, go!
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Oh my god!
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Yes!
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You got it!
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Yup!
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Your went's all this!
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You know what?
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I'm gonna leave!
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What?
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Wait!
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Wait!
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Wait!
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Wait!
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Come out of it!
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You actually left?
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Wait, this is so bad.
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I guess he didn't know how to do a back walk over it.
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There is no way that I'm gonna be up there doing a walk back bend over thingy -ma -jiggy.
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I came here to do one thing, and that one thing was judge.
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Guys, I can't believe I made a judge leave.
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That is so bad for me.
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I only have three judges that are judging now, and so four.
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Well, now it's no fun without Quinn.
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Wait, no, no, we have more fun things.
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Oh, okay.
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You gotta tell him to come back after seeing the sleeping.
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Or we can just leave with him to watch the movie with the popcorn in there.
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You know what?
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I'm gonna give the popcorn a little taste test.
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Yeah, give it a little taste roll.
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I have three different flavors.
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This is kettle corn?
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Yes.
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It's not bad.
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You guys can pick your favorite, and you can just take the whole bucket of it.
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Okay, wait, what's this like?
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Not bad.
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It is fiery hot, so it's a little spicy.
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You know what?
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Let's try it.
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Oh, it's not too bad.
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That's good.
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That's good.
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And we have one more garlic flavor, if you want to try that.
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I love garlic.
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Mmm, this one's, it's okay.
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Oh, it's okay.
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It's okay, you have three different pieces.
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Yeah, yeah, pick your favorite.
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I like that one.
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I'm gonna just go with the OG.
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I like the spicy one.
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I like the garlic.
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Perfect.
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So everybody has their favorite popcorn?
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Yes!
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Yes!
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Okay, awesome.
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I'm not gonna lie, the room was a little bit girly, but it did look really cozy.
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It had nice snacks, and, you know, Elena might have a good chance at winning the prize.
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This is way harder to set up than I thought, but now we have a secret room,
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and I'm gonna hide in here while they're at Elena's.
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Let's see if they can find me when they get here
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And then we also just have like little matching pajamas
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Oh my gosh, they're so cute
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Yes, it's so cute
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Okay guys, the judges are not here yet I think they're probably still at Elena's I have no idea what Elena did
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But I'm really happy with how the sleepover turned out
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So I hope the judges like it
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And hopefully they like the theme I honestly don't even know if they're gonna find me when they get here
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We're about to find out because the judges are heading to my sleepover right now
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I don't know but I do know Elena sleepover was really good so hopefully
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Anna could maybe tie it
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okay honestly don't think they're gonna find my secret room
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and I don't want to lose by just staying in the secret room, so I'm gonna go out.
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Hi!
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What?
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I wanted to do the secret room part of my sleepover.
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A comfy, like, spot room?
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Oh, wow!
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The first part of my sleepover is this flexibility challenge, so do you guys want to see who can lift their legs to the highest balloon?
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Wow!
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Oh, you get a point for each balloon, and then whoever can get the highest win.
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No, for sure.
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I think, for sure.
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Okay.
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I mean, you guys might even be able to get higher.
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At least you really don't work like you're taller.
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Not really.
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I heard Faye was the best at this challenge.
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If you were asking everyone else to go first, then why don't you go first?
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This is our second point.
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Okay.
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Okay, now I got to do it all in one motion.
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Yeah, okay.
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Wait.
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You were supposed to hold it there.
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I feel like you got two points.
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Wait, I can hold it there.
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What do you guys think?
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How many of you guys are holding it?
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I think he gets two points.
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Okay, Gino gets two points.
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I feel like the first two are pretty easy.
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Okay, that's two.
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Three.
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You're so close.
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Wait, I thought you got four. That worked.
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Yes.
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Oh, then I got four points.
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The flexibility challenge was really fun, but it was a little bit difficult.
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Okay, do you think you can get four, too?
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Wait, you know what?
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I believe in you.
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Come on, it's your turn.
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One.
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One.
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Two.
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I'm going to do it one little turn to three.
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Three.
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Three.
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Okay, you're pretty close to four.
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Okay, one more thing, you've got this.
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I think you can probably get it.
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That's a four!
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Okay, yay!
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That's a four, that means both you completed the whole challenge, that is so good.
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Yay!
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Yay!
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There's also a makeover section here.
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So there's like different outfits and stuff.
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There's one like I'm wearing.
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That's so cute.
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And like ballet theme for anna sleepover i really like the outfit options
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because they're all pink and they're really cute over here we have a really comfy bed
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when we walked in here this was actually one of the first things
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that caught my eye it's like a real bed
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it's like even softer than a bed really you can watch the movie
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while you're in bed
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so it's like the perfect movie night what movie would you be watching obviously barbie
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and the nutcracker have you not seen the theme of the sleepover
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it's like all on theme i feel like elena's didn't have a theme right it
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It was cozy.
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I feel like this one has a better theme.
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I'm so curious about Alayna did.
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I really like the Barbie and the Nutcracker theme, so this is gonna be really hard to choose.
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Not only is there a bag, but also a trampoline.
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Did I wanna test it out?
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Yes!
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You know who has the way?
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I'm gonna hit a front flip, watch out!
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Oh no!
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Wow!
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That was good!
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Okay, no, get off.
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I'm a big trampoline guy, so, you know, I really enjoyed it.
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Wait guys, have you made a decision?
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Um, okay, I think we need to talk about it for a little bit.
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Yeah, okay.
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Okay, I really like, like, Elena's, like, coziness.
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I feel like it's more cozy than this.
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But, like, she has, like, a really specific theme.
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Elena's had snacks.
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Imagine, like, you're in the middle of the night and you wake up from a sleepover.
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It's pitch black everywhere in the gym and you just want to grab a snack.
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Hey, but imagine you wake up in Elena's room and there's no trampoline.
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You know what?
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Wait, wait, wait, guys.
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Guys.
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Even though, like, Elena's sleepover turned out really good, I want to win this now so we can stay the night at the gym.
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I think that would be so fun so we really thought about this
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and we thought elena's room was really cozy
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but anna's room was really creative you know she had the theme barbie in a nutcracker so as judges we think
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it's the time did you guys both get the prize
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oh wait what is this there's two walk it these are so cute
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Ooh, we're matching, we're twinning.
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Twinsies.
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If you liked this video, I think you'll love the new
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Barbie and the Nutcracker movie.
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Thanks, Mattel, for sponsoring.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Secret Sleepover in a Gymnastics Gym!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sleepover, judge, secret, movie, gym. This video has 33 sentences and 3750 words to shadow. The speech runs for 18:33. The speaker talks fast, about 202 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 36 of its 33 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
gymnastics noun/d͡ʒɪmˈnæs.tɪks/A sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, and kinesthetic awareness.
outfit noun/ˈaʊtfɪt/A set of clothing (with accessories).
pillow noun/ˈpɪl.oʊ/ [ˈpʰɪɫ.ö̞]A soft cushion used to support the head in bed.
comfy adjective/ˈkʌm.fi/Comfortable.
fort noun/fɔɹt/A fortified defensive structure stationed with troops.
popcorn noun/ˈpɑp.kɔɹn/A snack food made from corn or maize kernels popped by dry heating.
blanket noun/ˈblæŋ.kɪt/A heavy, loosely woven fabric, usually large and woollen, used for warmth while sleeping or resting.
flavor noun/ˈfleɪvə/The quality produced by the sensation of taste or, especially, of taste and smell in combined effect.
garlic noun/ˈɡɑɹlɪk/A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, having a pungent bulb much used in cooking.
snack noun/snæk/A light meal.
palace noun/ˈpælɪs/Official residence of a head of state or other dignitary, especially in a monarchical or imperial governmental system.
whoever/huˈɛvɚ/Who ever: an emphatic form of who.
stretch verb/stɹɛt͡ʃ/To lengthen by pulling.
spider noun/ˈspaɪ̯dɚ/Any of various eight-legged, predatory arthropods, of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs to catch prey.
beam noun/ˈbiːm/Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
set up verb/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/To make ready for use.
turn out verbTo end up; to result.
come back verbTo return to a place.
come over verbTo affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse.
do over verb/ˈduˌoʊvɚ/To cover with; to smear or spread on to.
dry off verbTo make dry.
fall off verbTo become detached or to drop from.
find out verbTo discover, as by asking or investigating.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

  • Do you even have time to build all this?
  • You know what we are missing?
  • Did we get here too early?
  • What do you guys think?
  • What movie would you be watching?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowYou've wanted · have barely even started · haven't even set
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a groupthe best · the most important · the furthest
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certainmight not be · might have · might be
Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two thingssleepover than · more fun than · better than

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 107 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “th” sounds: bathtub /ˈbæθtʌb/, furthest /ˈfɜː(ɹ)ðɪst/
  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: illusion /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/, unfinished /ʌnˈfɪnɪʃt/, bookshelf /ˈbʊkˌʃɛlf/
  • Long words — get the stress right: flexibility /ˌflɛksɪˈbɪlɪti/, unlimited /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like gymnastics, outfit, pillow.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →