I love this recipe... Yum! I got the cute scalloped cupcake liners in Salt Lake at Orson Gygi's- an AMAZING store. You can shop online at www.gygi.com.
Magnolia Vanilla CupcakesCupcakes:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing:
Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Vanilla Buttercream:
The vanilla buttercream we use at the bakery is technically not a buttercream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners' sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Yield: enough for 2 dozen cupcakes or 1 (9-inch) layer cake
I only bake them 20 minutes...
Everyone loves pink frosting and sprinkles!
Here's the trick for making the chocolate butterflies...
1. Get your chocolate melts- use one color to line the outside and another to fill in the middle.2. After they hardened in the fridge, dip your knife in hot water and wipe it dry with a towel.
3. Gently cut the butterfly in half.
4. Pour out of mold and use mini marshmellows and the outside edge of a plate to prop up the wings. Squirt chocolate down the middle to be the butterfly body and hold the wings in place. Put in fridge until set!
(I also got this mold at Orson Gygi's so you could order it online through them or at Bake it Pretty!)
I'm a little late posting pics, but it's more for our blurb book we're going to make out of the blog than anything... so here goes! (If you have made a blurb book from your blog, help me out! Everytime I do it, my picture quality is all super low- bah!)
When we got there we ate our picnic dinner, did the bounce houses/slides, played a few carnival games, bought cotton candy, played on the blankets, and were so excited when Aunt Lissy and Uncle Mark came and Uncle Bo and Aunt Heidi and cousin Lola!
They always have fantastic bands playing- the kiddos just dance their little hearts out! Colby was doing summersaults and jumps and getting jiggy with it and cracking everyone up. And of course they always love dancing swing with Daddy and doing tricks! 
My little posers- ha ha! We sat right next to this flag... but you can see the beautiful mountains in the background- it is a gorgeous and perfect setting. I LOVE Bountiful!
So the next morning was the real 4th and we were in Park City so we headed out to the Parade! This was the 1st parade the kiddos have been to really...
It was kind of a ghetto fabulous parade- no amazingly hugo mongo floats but some cool trucks and dancers and floats...
We found the perfect spot to watch the parade by these beautiful daisies with a ledge to sit on.
We ate lots of snacks and it was actually a pretty long parade. So fun. Love all the colorful crazy houses in park City!
Then we headed right out to Oakley, UT for the kiddos Rodeo... We met up with the Pearce's Dovers, and Burkinshaws. We really had no idea what we were in for. Some serious rodeo for tots.
The kids first lined up in the arena according to age and had a race. Mia was the 1st girly across the line- wahoo! And i felt bad because all she had on was sandles so she took them off and ran barefoot! Colby ran fast and did great too- all the kids got a silver 50 cent piece for completing the run. They were SOO excited. Next they lined the kiddos up again and did a chicken chase- if you caught the chicken you got to keep it. Thank heavens the kiddos did not catch one of the chickens. ;-) It was HILARIOUS to watch though- those poor little chickens.
Ok, so the Mutton Bustin was pretty serious business! These sheep were HUGE! And mean! Kids were getting bucked off right and left and trampled. I wasn't even sure I wanted Colby to do it. He did though and Ger ran along side the sheep and grabbed his shirt when he was about to fall off. PHEW! What a good dad. JJ went right after Colby and wasn't so lucky. DOH.
Here's a good zoomed in shot! Woah- nice grab.
He said it was fun but he NEVER wanted to do it again.
Cute girlies! We hung out with the Burkinshaws... Mia and Sydney, though registered to ride a sheep, politely declined. ;-) 
The Pearces oldest, Cole, was super brave and rode this Calf. Ok, they called it a calf but this baby was HUGE! Kids got pretty beat up and trampled but Cole rode great and we were so impressed that he was brave enough to do it.
Then swimming to end the crazy day! It was one of the funnest 4ths we've ever had!
Welcome to the Ace of Cakes Party! Melissa sewed 15 aprons for the party from fabric Sydney had picked out- 12 for the girls and 3 adult sized ones for Abby, herself, and me. They turned out so dang cute I thought! THANKS LISSY! 
Then we played, "Tape the candle on the cupcake!" They were all giggling and laughing and it was a fun game- as you can see instead of a blindfold we covered their eyes with a chef hat.
The next game was, "Guess what Kitchen Item is in this Bag." Again they had their eyes covered with a chef hat and everyone guessed right and got a treat! Impressive. I couldn't believe they guessed measuring spoon, wire whisk, beater, etc. They did great and had fun with it...
Then we had a yummy pizza, veggies, grapes, capri sun lunch. The boys kept yelling, "PIZZA PARTY!" They were hungry and ate up 4 pizzas- woah. Not too bad for a group of 15 kiddos...
Next it was time for presents... Her friends got to sit on the couch with her while she opened their presents- they are all so dang cute! AND she was spoiled rotten- everyone was so generous and got her just the perfect gifts. She couldn't pick a favorite- she was excited about them all.
ate the skittles :-) and got creative with their decorating...
Ok- these are pics from her actual birthday on Friday- she and Mia were twinners for school!
I went to eat lunch with them and their friends got to sit by us- they were cracking us up!
There was no mean lunch ladies with loud whistles like last year so it was a perfectly enjoyable lunch. ;-)
Colby thought it was so fun to have a lunch box and eat with the big kids.
After school we surprised Sydney by taking her and some friends out to Ocean Blue- the best frozen yogurt! They all LOVED a cool treat on a hot day. We also had to ride the horse at the toy store next door- they had a great time playing with all the trains and bikes and toys there too...
