Night out with the All Blacks

Last night my Dad and I went out to a NBA game with some of the All Blacks! We went with Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Israel Dagg, Aaron Smith, Sam Whitelock and Ma'a Nonu. The Brooklyn Nets versed the L.A Lakers and it was a really good game. We got to stay in Blake Griffin's (one of the Brooklyn Nets) boxes right on the halfway line. It was so cool. I got the V.I.P treatment! :P At halftime they put the All Blacks up on the big screen. The called us the All Blacks Rugby Club. My dad and I had to walk back to our hotel and ended up getting home at midnight. It was crazy!

Ma'a Nonu before the game

The Nets warming up

Me and Ma'a Nonu

The guys with some of the Brooklynettes

Empire State Building

Today we went to the Empire State Building. It's the 14th tallest building in the world and is a famous skyscraper. I got some pretty cool pictures and it was a good way to see the city because it had unobstructed 360 degree views at the top.

The top level

Me at the top

View of the city

Walking through New York

Today we went to Times Square, which is just down the road from our hotel. The famous commercial intersection has featured in lots of movies and hosted lots of major events. It was crazy to actually be there and to be walking through it, after seeing it so many times on t.v.

Me in Times Square

The electric ads in Times Square

Grayce with Mickey & Minnie in Times Square

Willy Wonka floor at Toys"R"Us

Ferris wheel in Toys"R"Us

Police on horses

Ireland vs. All Blacks

What a crazy game! For a moment there, I didn't think we were going to win. The final score was 22 - 24 to us. We won in the last minute thanks to a successful conversion. The All Blacks have made history by being the first rugby team to win every single game in the year and not lose at all. Yay!

The Haka!!

Fireworks for the Irish team

National Anthem

The Game

Irish supporters

After the game, we got to go on the field and celebrate with the team.

Captains Run Dublin

Today my sister and I went along with my dad to the Captains Run. This is the last team training the All Blacks have before the game. It's called the Captains Run because the captain (Richie McCaw) gets to run the training and decide what they need to practice. It was really awesome to see how everybody prepares for the games each week.

My dad, my sister and I at the stadium

The boys practicing

Dad and Grayce supervising the training

Team talk

My sister helping set up.

Practicing the Haka

Walking through Dublin

 Opposite our hotel in Dublin, there is a big and beautiful park called Stephens Green. It's right in the middle of the city so lots of people like to walk through it to get to places. We also walked through the main streets of Dublin. In some of them, it was like the whole of New Zealand was in one street!

Swans swimming through the park

Trinity College. This is a 123 yr old music college in the heart of Dublin.

Christmas Decorations in a busy street.

Dublin Zoo

On Dads day off, we went to the Dublin Zoo. It was FREEZING, but really cool. My two favorite animals were the Snow Leopards and the Squirrel Monkeys.

Us outside Dublin Zoo

If you haven't already realized, these are seven squirrel monkeys huddled together to keep warm.  They were so cool!

This is a Mangabey monkey. He tried to hold onto my sisters hand through the glass. It was so cute!

The tigers were so close!

This is a tarantula. It was as big as my hand and really creepy.

The Making of Harry Potter

On our last day in London, we went to the Warner Bros. Studios for The Making of Harry Potter tour. This was where all the movies were filmed. It was so cool! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

A prop from the fourth movie

The Harry Potter bus that took us from the train station to the set.

The Christmas decorations in the entrance

The model of Hogwarts used for bits of scenery in the movies.

Diagon Alley

Me outside Number 4 Privet Drive with a cup of Butterbeer (don't worry, it's non-alcoholic).

An animatronic head of a mermaid used for filming in the fourth movie.

England vs. All Blacks

It was an intense game, but we won! The final score was 22-30 and I really enjoyed it. Here's some pics of the game from our seats.

Warming up before the game

National Anthems

The Haka

Museum of Natural History

Today we went to the Museum of Natural History. This has a whole lot of stuff about dinosaurs, evolution, geography and different species of animals. We spent the whole day there, because it was so interesting! 

The entry of the museum

An Allosaurus

T. Rex facts

T. Rex

T. Rex head

Mammal exhibit

Guess what this is a skeleton of? A prehistoric dolphin!

This one is a gigantic sloth, and yes, it is real!