How exciting .... when we were little had the most fun at Grans that had the most junk they were raised in depression era, but popcorn and uno are fun too.
We were turned out to play back east, ponds, barns, cows, corn fields, ticks & chiggers & snakes, oh what fun....
Have recently done sm wood boxes to decorate, or canvas bags to paint.
Best part was time spent no mater what the activity was.
Have Fun !!! :)

Run through the lawn sprinkler, play hide and seek, catch lightning bugs, play dominoes (or build with them, or set them up to fall down in a line).

If you go anywhere in the car, play the ABC game (find words on signs that start with each letter in the alphabet or as another variation the letter can be anywhre in the word).

Scavanger hunt, treasure hunt with crazy clues, collect nature items for a collage, have the older ones help the younger ones look up interesting places to visit (state parks, historical sites, etc.) in your area & make all the plans for a trip to see some of the places they found (map, travel time, where to stop for potty breaks, estimated cost of gas for the trip, what to take along - camera, picnic lunch, water bottles - what order to visit the different sites, etc)

tye dye t-shirts, paint birdhouses, bon fires in the back yard, don't forget the s'mores, berry picking & a sweet cobbler from what they picked, the possibilities are only limited by your energy level.

Make a list of things to do and ask them if they want to do them. Place them into the hat and each day draw one out. That will be what you do that day. If it is to hot out side take a tent in the house and have them to, play or sleep in it. :wink:

My grandsons (7 and 5), and I tie-dyed t-shirts when they stayed this last week. We had so much fun, they asked when we can do it again!

This is a fun idea for kids, and SUPER cheap...paper weights made from smooth rocks. Paint them black to start and once they are dry, embellish with acrylic paint! Great gift for teachers, dad or mom, holidays, etc...!

My best friend is in Stillwater, and I'll be seeing her this w/e, so I'll ck on a Strawberry Festival. (Actually, I'm wondering if maybe the Stilwell Strawberry Festival might be what you are referring to. These are SUCH similar town names!) My memory is somewhat lacking at times, so PM me if I forget to answer your question. Tallequah IS very interesting, I agree. In fact, you reminded me, I DO want to take those grandkids to see the Museum, THANK YOU! I'm in the middle of the State, so not bad drive to anywhere. Lake Tenkiller...IS very nice, I agree. LOVE to camp, but mostly in spring/fall, not NOW. TOO buggie and hot for me! AND lots of flooding too this year. Such strange weather!!! :-) Favorite place to Camp is the Federal facility (Suphur, OK nearby) and to hike is Wichita Wildlife Refuge (near Lawton, OK). The north, middle of State near the Kansas border, has an AWESOME bird refuge, brackish water, as near the Salt Plains, and MANY migratory birds stop for some R-n-R on their long journeys! I see the neatest birds when I get to visit there occasionally (spring/fall best of course). It's just north of where folks dig up those interesting salt crystals (Fed facilty too). We're on the divide, the zone between eastern hardwoods and high desert plateau - just about center of State. There are both available by traveling either direction, which I enjoy - but grandkids.... They just want to swim! So, we WILL spend lots of time at the Lake of course...eat/swim/eat/swim/eat/swim/sleep (repeat). :D

I have to admit, I've never made homemade noodles...I am ashamed to admit this. My mother never did that kind of thing,
I don't recall a homemade pie, or bread, or noodles. She was raised on the farm...HARD work...and once she escaped she wanted nothing to do with growing veggies, or anything like that. BUT, I loved it...and both my grandmothers who were such wonderful gardeners, cooks, etc. There was the country one and the city one...so I got to learn LOTS from them both. But, I really, really wish I had learned SO much more. Was not raised in Church either, and both of them had real relationship with the Lord. I think they must have been praying for me LOTS, because one way or another the Lord has sent along "the right person" at the "right time" to teach me about LOTS of things I wish I'd learned directly from them. All that is to say, I cannot get enough of the home-made-jam type activities (my DH made some Monday-wild plum-best he's ever made!) and other "down-home" activities. Guess it's because I GET to, and not because I HAVE to...which was mom's case as a little girl. She could not wait to escape the farm, all I want to do is return to the farm! Aren't we humans silly creatures?

:D

Good stuff! I like ALL your suggestions!!! THANK YOU!

BC...I loved my little visit to Vancouver, and Vancouver Island! THE DEATH BY CHOCOLATE at the Empress Hotel...is one thing I DO wish I could take those grandkids to do. (That's what grandparents are for!) BUT, the cost the travel en mass to BC from OKC...well, it's highly unlikely...
I LOVED the Gardens on the Island - WOW WOW WOW!