From Deseret News archives:

Huntsmans settling in

Governor and family making the most of their time together in historic mansion

Published: Sunday, July 17, 2005 11:50 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
It's still early on a recent summer morning, but first lady Mary Kaye Huntsman has already done a radio interview before getting breakfast for her family — not a home-cooked meal, but a big bag of food from McDonalds.

"We know all the fast-food menus," Huntsman says, laughing.

She and the oldest of the six Huntsman children, daughters Mary Anne, 20, and Abby, 19, recite some of their take-out favorites, like a Thai salad from California Pizza Kitchen and the deli sandwiches at Arby's.

Of course, sometimes they do cook in the small, apartment-like family quarters on the second floor of the stately Governor's Mansion on South Temple. There, the menu is also likely to be fast and something simple — tortillas with cheese or even cold cereal.

Family time is limited for the Huntsman clan, so they're always looking for shortcuts to more of it. Life in the mansion includes some help with cleaning but not cooking, which often makes meals a household chore best handled quickly so the family can make the most of its time together.

Everyday family events as well as milestones such as taking daughter Abby this fall to Philadelphia, where she will attend her father's alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, must be fit into Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s packed schedule.

Story continues below
The first lady is busy, too, promoting her "Power in You" program that's aimed at helping teenagers deal with difficulties including substance abuse, eating disorders and poverty.

For Mary Anne, squeezing in time together means playing the pair of grand pianos in the mansion's third-floor ballroom with her father on those nights when neither one of them can sleep.

"If you ever see the ballroom lights on late at night when you drive by, it's Mary Anne playing the piano," the first lady said. The pianos are right above Mary Anne's parents' bedroom, which may explain why the governor ends up joining his daughter at the keyboards.

Abby often runs alongside the governor on one of the two treadmills set up in the mansion's family room, a large area of the basement equipped with a television, ping-pong table and exercise equipment.

Jon Huntsman III, 15, shares his father's interest in extreme sports like motocross racing. He barely acknowledges a reporter visiting the mansion on his way out the back door for what will be a day of riding — and jumping — his bike in the nearby foothills.

Liddy, 17, is involved with her mother's program. It was Liddy's struggle with diabetes that prompted her mother to reach out to other young people dealing with that and other diseases, an effort that eventually expanding into the "Power in You" program.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image

Mary Kaye Huntsman and daughters Liddy, Mary Anne and Gracie Mei, on counter, fix dinner at the Governor's Mansion.

previousnext

Latest comments

Utes remain silent about BCS

BSU: 1 BCS > 0 BCS from BYU Hawaii: 1 BCS > 0 BCS from BYU and... Mighty...

SLC council OKs gay rights policies

since you posted about 20 comments in a row, it really doesn't matter if some...

Prejean is a horrible example as she was FIRED FOR NOT DOING HER JOB! She...

woulda coulda shoulda - just more of the same pg fan talking smack because...

A serious illness can try the souls of all involved. People can make a...

My wife has MS and we have battled together with it. In sickness and in...

I love the false claim that Jon Huntsman is a "self-made man"! Ha! What a...

SLC council OKs gay rights policies

["are we defining "marriage" so narrowly that all it means to us is the...

Editorial: Mormons and gay rights

RE: Re: Pagan | 5:47 p.m. Nov. 12, 2009 You honestly believe that...

yoot fans have nothing better to do, especially since there are self-serve...

Advertisements
Advertisement