Blog Vacation

Hello, Hello, Hello!!!  

It's been over 3 months since I last blogged!  Why you ask?  It's been so busy around here lately with kids extracurricular activities, I've been working 3 days a week in Brent's office, we have been designing a house (longest process EVER)…..Unfortunately, my blog took the backseat to everything going on.   Thank you to my sweet mother-in-law on Easter Sunday for sharing how much she missed my blogging and how ready she was for me to come back to it!

With the school year coming to an end, the kids activities are slowly coming to an end.

Track and Volleyball (club) are over for Kate.

Soccer and Choir has ended for Ashlan.  Her volleyball will end in the next few weeks.

We are gearing up for summer which holds lots of fun for the girls!  From dance camps, to volleyball camps, to mission trips, to the family summer trip to Key West and Naples, Florida -

We are ready for summer!!!

Scroll down to see a few new posts on some recent activities and some baking fun!!

Ashlan turns 10

Ashlan turned 10 last week!  Unfortunately, her birthday fell on Math STARR testing day.  Ugh.  Math is her least favorite subject!  So due to testing,  I could not come up to the school to have lunch with her, nor could I bring any birthday treats up to school on the day of her birthday (they don't allow any visitors in the school at any time on STARR testing days).  It was just a crummy day to have a birthday.  Although, the teacher did encourage me to bring treats the day BEFORE her birthday, which I did.  Nothing wrong with starting the celebrations early, right!

My 10 year old

Since her birthday falls on Earth Day, I made a special treat for her that included honoring Earth Day.

Cupcakes to look like Earth with a heart in the center.

How did I do the heart in the middle?  My mom is the cookie cutter queen.  She must have over 1000 cookie cutters.  A cookie cutter for everything you can think of.  I called and asked her if she had any small heart cutters.  She ended up giving me 3 different smaller sized heart cookie cutters.  I used the one that worked the best for the size I was looking for.  Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled, I just placed the cookie cutter down the middle and used a utensil to lift and pull the heart shape out.  Then I filled that heart hole with red icing.  Easy, easy!

Now check out THIS treat!  These I didn't make!  There is a donut shop around the corner that makes the cutest themed donuts!  Only $20/box.  

I ordered these a couple days before her birthday and picked them up early in the morning on her birthday so I would have them for her when she woke up for school!

Now that's a great birthday breakfast!

The dining room was filled with some special gifts for a special 10 year old!

Now here is the fun part of a 10th birthday!

This tradition started when Nick turned 10.  The kids get surprised at some point on their 10th birthday with a pie in the face!  You never know when, and you don't know what kind of pie…..

Nick remembers his pie in the face…

Kate remembers her pie in the face…

And now Ashlan got her pie (lemon) in the face!

We were coming home from Ashlan's talent show practice and Kate was hiding behind Brent's car.  As Ashlan got out of my car and was walking towards the house, Kate jumped out and slammed the pie in her face!

Ashlan was VERY surprised!!!

PIE FACE!

Happy 10th Birthday to our favorite blonde hair, brown eyed girl!!!

Salted Caramel Frappuccino Cupcakes

Ashlan's favorite frappuccinos at Starbucks are Vanilla Bean and Salted Caramel.  I got the baking bug a few weeks ago, specifically a cupcake baking bug, and I came across a Salted Caramel Cupcake recipe.  I immediately thought of Ashlan's obsession with that particular drink and knew I had to try it.

This would be a perfect treat for her to come home from school and find on the kitchen table!

(Don't you just love my green Starbucks straws in the cupcake.  I grabbed 12 straws from them, came home and cut them in half for the cupcakes)

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Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1 T. canola oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
4 T. milk, divided
15 caramel candies, unwrapped (I used Kraft caramels)

Additional sliced caramels (for garnish)
Sea salt


Directions
For the Cupcakes:
1.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.

2.  Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, and oil until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix until well combined.

3.  Beginning and ending with flour, add flour alternately with buttermilk, mixing between each addition.

4.  Distribute batter evenly between the muffin cups.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Frost with Salted Caramel Buttercream, garnish with a slice of caramel candy, and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.


For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
6.  Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoons of the milk; beat until well combined and smooth, about 2 minutes.  Cover and refrigerate.

7.  Meanwhile, melt the caramel candies along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk in the microwave at 30 second intervals until caramels are completely melted.  Set aside to cool until the caramel is cooled but still soft and pliable.*

8.  Once the caramel is cooled, mix into the frosting until well combined.


*Setting the caramel aside to cool is important!  I discovered the hard way that mixing hot melted caramel into butter-based frosting does NOT turn out well.  Also, I had to use the electric mixer to thoroughly mix in the caramel - simply folding or stirring didn't work.  You may want to refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes or so prior to frosting the cupcakes to let it set up a bit after mixing in the caramel.

Enjoy!