On August 16th, 2007 your favorite college sweethearts had just finished breakfast and were deciding how to spend one of their precious vacation days on Squam Lake.  I suggested a jaunt in the kayaks to take advantage of the sun and the unusually glassy lake.  

Josh and I got ready and ran out to the boathouse.  We jumped gingerly into the new red and blue kayaks and paddled out into the cove.  With a particularly mischievous gleam in his eye Josh challenged me to a race to the end of Center Harbor Neck.  I thoughtfully considered this suggestion and accepted, after providing myself with a healthy lead, of course.  You may know that both Josh and I have a bit of a competitive streak, and while you probably won't be surprised that Josh won the race handily, I admit to being a bit miffed.  Luckily Josh was such a charming victor that I soon let bygones be bygones, and we pulled the two kayaks together to enjoy the beautiful summer day in each other's company.

Although I was winded from the previous exertion and not feeling especially attractive in the moment, Josh would not be deterred from telling me that I looked beautiful.  I was actually so dismissive of his comments that he may have received some undeserved splashing.  It wasn't until Josh took on a more serious tone and said, "Megan, I want to spend the rest of my life with you...Will you Marry me?" that I realized what was actually going on.  Then it was only after saying "YES!" at least 20 times that I noticed that he had pulled a small black box inside a air-filled ziplock baggie out of his pocket.  If you've never seen the way a diamond ring sparkles under the sun in the middle of a pristine New Hampshire lake, I highly recommend it!  Of course both of us were so nervous about having the ring out there in the middle of the lake, that we quickly returned it to the puffed-up ziplock (Josh had made sure that it would float by testing it in the bathroom sink before we left the house!) 

Barbara and Matt Barnard were already in on the news, so we decided that we would share our excitement with the Murphy clan after dinner that night, although my uncontrollable smiling for the rest of the day did threaten to give something away.  As planned, after desert had been served Josh stood up and announced "Today I asked Megan to marry me and she said 'Yes.'  We want to ask you for your blessing and to share in this exciting news with us."  Never have you seen four Murphys so shocked.  Carl and Scott looked to Mom and Dad for help on what to do in this situation, and got no assistance whatsoever.  Eventually, Carl broke the stunned silence, stood up, and shook Josh's hand to congratulate him, jolting everyone else to their senses and beginning the celebration!

-Megan Murphy


Here Josh and I are on the evening of our engagement!