Let me set the scene for you… It’s the beginning of July 2014.

Back then, I spent almost every free moment I had hanging out in Disneyland with my best friends.

It was July 3rd, I was playing in the parks with Erica & Yadira when we spotted a group of Custodial Cast Members outside of the Splash Mountain queue. Now, if you know anything about me, or have seen any of my social media feeds, you know that I LOVE Splash Mountain (RIP), so of course, we were headed there for yet another Splash down. Erica told me that she knew one of the CMs from high school, and Yadira worked in Custodial, so she knew all of them. We headed their way to say a quick hello, but honestly all I was interested in was inhaling an M&M pretzel I had just bought like 5 minutes prior. So here we are, they’re chatting to the group of 4 guys, and me sitting in my chair making a huge mess, the M&Ms were falling all over the place. Next thing I know, there’s a broom under my chair sweeping up my mess, and wouldn’t you know, it’s Connor.

Later that day, Erica had told Yadira & I she thought he was cute, so Yadira offered to set them up. I had absolutely zero interest, so I was like go for it.

Fast forward a week or so, and I get a text from Erica asking if I wanted to come hang out in the parks for a bit. I never say no to a Disney day, so of course I was in. On the way, she told me we were gonna meet Connor & Yadira there, so I was like cool, a group hang out. (Not having any idea what would transpire.)

When we got there, I seen Connor, and the first words out of my mouth were, “OMG, you look like Peter Parker”. That sparked up a conversation that was essentially the beginning of our relationship. Despite Yadira’s attempts to set Erica up with him, they were both too shy. Me, being the complete opposite, couldn’t keep my mouth shut, and he and I immediately just clicked. We talked nonstop all day, and I went home that night feeling the beginning flutters of butterflies.

A few days later, I was back in the park with some of my coworkers when I get a Facebook message from Connor asking for photos I took of him that first hang out day; me being me was just like “Give me your number, and I’ll text them to you!” And that was the start of texting non stop, flirting, and planning our next hang out day.

I remember reaching out to Erica asking if she was okay with us hanging out because I knew she liked him, and I wasn’t about to let a boy come between our friendship. At that point, I’m sure she knew I was starting to like him, and she saw our chemistry from day 1. After a long talk with her, and one with my mom (obviously), I felt like the universe had given me the green light. Little did I know, that it would turn into a relationship that now I can’t ever imagine my life without.

We’re now up to July 11th… I had work until 4:30 but wasn’t doing anything after, so I had texted Connor asking if he wanted to hang out in the parks after I was off work. He agreed, and we met up at Costuming after I changed into normal clothes. That evening was one of my favorites. I didn’t have my chair, so it was a lot of walking, but we talked non stop. We sat in the Innoventions building for a long time (soaking up the AC), and Connor introduced me to a coworker. After that we decided to hop on the Disneyland Railroad, and ended up talking so much that we made about 6 loops around the park. We spent the rest of the evening having dinner at Taste Pilots Grill in DCA, and not shutting up the entire time. He walked me out to the drop off lot, we hugged, and decided that we definitely needed to hang out again.

The next time we seen each other was about a week later. He had told me that his friend Shawn, and his girlfriend Melissa were visiting, and asked if I wanted to double date with them, at Disneyland of course. It was an immediate yes.

At the end of that night, Deidra (my other roommate & bestie) came to get me, and little did I know, she witnessed our first kiss. We were giddy and I couldn’t stop smiling the whole way home. ☺️

The day after, my Aunt and Uncle were coming to visit, and spend the day at Disneyland with me, and I wanted them to meet Connor. So I invited him to come have dinner with us, and I think he won them over.

At this point we were in constant communication, and planning to see each other whenever we could. I was getting anxious about what we were going to do because I was leaving like 3 weeks later to go back to school in NY.

The evening of the 25th, I asked if he wanted to come hang out at my apartment. He showed up an hour later with flowers, and the sweetest note. I wasn’t feeling the best, so most of that evening consisted of us just sitting and talking. He’d brought his guitar over, and played for a long time. I, loving every second of it, knew I had to soak it all in because we had so little time left. By the end of the night, he’d officially asked me to be his girlfriend, and it was the 2nd easiest yes, I’d ever uttered.

We spent the last 2 weeks of that summer falling head over heels for each other, and trying not to think about the long distance that was looming over us. I met his mom, went on plenty more Disneyland dates, spent a day at the OC Fair, and celebrated his 20th birthday.

The night before my flight back to NY, I spent 2 hours on the phone with my mom crying my eyes out because I was terrified of losing him, with me being on the other side of the country. You know when they say moms know? I guess that’s true because she told me there was something about him that told her he would stick around for the long haul, and she was absolutely right.

So, the next day, Aunt Ronnie dropped me off at the airport, and I FaceTimed Connor before I even got on the plane. We promised each other that 2,500 miles between us was nothing compared to the last month we spent together, and made plans for him to come see me, and meet Mama & Daddy, and he did.

Now, here we are, almost 11 years later. If you stuck around and read this novel, then you must really love us. 😂

We’re so excited for this long awaited chapter, and we can’t wait to share it all with you! See ya real soon!

With Love,

The #BrideToBybee, Kate (& Connor) 💕