Highland’s Very Own Love Story

Valentine’s Day. The time for hearts, chocolate, stolen kisses, and love. But for some Highland couples, it’s also the time to grow their family.
After being married for almost a decade, eight-year Highland language arts teacher Creed Archibald and three-year Highland math teacher Aubrey Gamble just welcomed their second child, a boy named Anias Gene Gamble-Archibald.
Archibald and Gamble first met through their shared love of rock climbing on a cliff in the Wichita Wildlife Refuge in Comanche Country, Oklahoma where they were climbing with friends. After Gamble’s friend introduced herself, it didn’t take long for Archibald to bring out the witty jokes that got Gamble laughing.
The two groups started talking and ended up climbing the rest of the mountain together, and of course, Archibald didn’t waste a second.
“I just kept flirting the rest of the day we were climbing. At one point, she was trying to pull her rope, and I was standing on the other end, and I gave her a big cheesy smile,” Archibald said. “I teased her a lot.”
After that day, they knew they were done for. Although the couple lived in different cities at the time, they started talking on Facebook Messenger and texted all the time.
Even though they weren’t dating yet, Archibald still referred to Gamble as his future wife because he knew she was it for him.
After texting constantly over winter break, they finally went on their first date at a restaurant. After that, Gamble found it “easy to talk to him very quickly” and felt the relationship was very natural.
From dating for multiple years to being married for 10 years, to working with each other every day. You’d think two people would get on the other’s nerves when being around each other all the time. It takes a special couple to stay on their partner’s good side.
“We don’t really see each other cause we’re on different floors and different departments. Basically, we just get to eat lunch together and drive in the same car,” Archibald said. “So, it’s nice.”
Archibald and Gamble don’t just work together. Their three-year-old son, Everett attends the day care at Highland as well, and sometimes eats lunch with his dad.
What makes these two teachers so compatible? Their love and gratitude for the other. It’s true that every couple has their ‘icks’, but isn’t it more important to find things that you love about your significant other?
“(I love) his sense of humor, he’s just generally fun. We have a very equal relationship. He participates equally in housework and childcare, and he’s smart,” Gamble said.
“Mrs. Gamble and I have had a lot of really awesome adventures together, so she’s very adventurous. She’s very creative and she’s made a very beautiful home for us. I just like her vibe,” Archibald said. “She’s more calm and level-headed. I’m the English teacher and she’s the math teacher. We’re a good yin and yang situation.”
Loving each other is what makes them a great couple, but loving their kids and being excited about growing their family is what makes them great parents.
Babies can be a lot of work, but there are also so many milestones to look forward to like their first steps, first words, and just being able to play with them when they’re older. For Gamble and Archibald, they are most looking forward to seeing their two kids play together a few years from now.
Gamble and Archibald have both expressed how they’re excited for when their two sons are older and can play together.
“I’m really looking forward to when the new baby is three and Everett is six, and I’m just wrestling two little tykes at the same. Just total wrestle-mania,” Archibald said.
“When they’re older and play together. I think when we have two, three and six, will be really fun,” Gamble said. “We’re both looking forward to that.”
Families are hardly ever picture-perfect, but it’s the uniqueness that makes them interesting. Archibald’s oldest son, Ethan, is a 17-year-old who lives with his mom in Oklahoma. Archibald lived near them for five years before moving back west when Ethan was old enough to fly alone.
Ethan visits Utah four times a year but would stay for a whole month every summer when he was younger.
Having two younger half-brothers was a big change, but Ethan is enjoying having siblings now.
“At first, he seemed unsure about having little half-brothers, but now that Everett is old enough to converse and play, I think Ethan enjoys it,” Archibald said.
The love parents have for their children is infinite, and Archibald and Gamble’s love is only growing with the little addition to their family.