Hundreds of students from Oak Park, Staley, Kearney, Park Hill, Park Hill South, Liberty, Liberty North, and Platte County high schools excitedly filed into buses around midnight on Friday, Nov. 6.  Loaded with pillows and snacks, these YoungLifers were thrilled for the annual ‘NonStop’ weekend.  They were told to pack their bags and have their cameras ready, but, weren’t told where they were going until they got there.

The next morning, after a long night of driving, students were ecstatic to find out they had ridden to Dallas, Texas. They were woken by boxes of glazed donuts being passed around and the news that they were going to get a private tour of AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys football team.  After viewing all areas of the arena, including the private suites, the players’ and the cheerleaders’ locker rooms, and the actual field, the YoungLifers moved on to their next surprise of the day.

After a quick bite of pizza in the stadium parking lot, the buses took students to the Fort Worth Zoo.  It was terrific, filled with lots of animals and features that aren’t offered in Kansas City.

Now around 3 p.m., the YoungLife kids were ready for their next stop: the Fort Worth Shopping Center. The girls headed straight for stores like Forever 21 and Francesca’s, while the guys stayed back to loiter in the Nike outlet.  Later, the students walked down the street to grab dinner at the famous In-N-Out, a fast food chain not available in Kansas City.

Once stomachs were full, the buses loaded up and headed to the famous Cowtown Coliseum for a real Texas rodeo.  YoungLifers witnessed bullriding, lassoing and horse races.  It seemed like the perfect way to end the night.

But as the buses pulled out of the parking lot, they headed for the day’s final stop: Urban Air Trampoline Park.  All of the students had a blast jumping around in a building filled completely with trampolines and bouncy obstacle courses.

Around midnight, the group filed into their buses for a final time and started the journey back to Kansas City. Eight short, sleep-filled hours later, and the YoungLifers were home, safe and sound, with fun photos and irreplaceable memories.