Happy 4th of July!

Today we went to the annual Edina 4th of July parade! This was a fantastic parade, but a little long! It lasted 1 and a half hours! Sutton and Shaeffer were loving every minute. I'm not sure what their favorite part was; the horses, clowns, army jeeps, or bands! When we got home they were pretending to be in a parade. Shaeffer had the horse on a stick out and Sutton was marching, it was ADORABLE... This afternoon we are heading to "Ray's Lake" for a picnic... We're in the process of making banana cupcakes... YUMMY... Here's the recipe if interested! Happy 4th!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
2 1/8 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan or line 24 cupcakes. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake.