Huntsmans settling in
Governor and family making the most of their time together in historic mansion
"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.
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.
The other kids, Will, 12, and Gracie Mei, 6, who was adopted from China, also seek time with their parents. Even the youngest children often accompany their father or their mother to speaking engagements and other events.
Comments
- Canal breaks, causes landslide in Logan 1:52 p.m.
- Reptile Lou won't eat 1:06 p.m.
- Three injured in South Ogden shooting 1:05 p.m.
- Upsets at Saturday's State Am 12:27 p.m.
- Luxury home market stalls 12:02 p.m.
- Kirk Douglas classic on DVD 11:38 a.m.
- Zion fire moving southeast 11:36 a.m.
- More school-money than expected 11:24 a.m.
- Virginia 'Freedman's' project done 11:12 a.m.
- Teen relive Mormon trek 11:12 a.m.
- Jazz brass debate Millsap match
- LDS seminary principal arrested
- 2 men cited on LDS plaza
- Jazz finances not quite so bleak
- Reactions on Boozer speculation
- HBO defends U. logo use in 'Love'
- Cash for Clunkers to get rolling soon
- Utahns among Texans' investors
- Jazz rookies quiet Thunder youngsters
- 10 years after the flood
- LDS seminary principal arrested
267 - Jazz brass debate Millsap match
176 - Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
141 - Jazz talking Boozer trade?
140 - 2 men cited on LDS plaza
132 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
124 - Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
99 - Fairness of BCS debated
81 - Letters: Single-payer system best
75 - Services bids farewell to Jackson
70
As more and more dads are put out of work in this economy, I've been...
The photographs are mysterious, brooding, dark. They show dimples and...
I am confident that Glen Beck has the read the book by Gary Allen,NONE DARE...
The best thing we could do would be to get rid of all the people in DC who...
He would not pull out a whip, that's for sure. You people must read a...
i havent read anything about 20 mil. i read 32 to 36 mil not confirmed. 15...
Enter comment Introduzca comentario ¡¡Por Dios!! Esto no es cosa del...
When I was 16, I thought the world of my seminary teachers. They all talked...
Girls/Ladies/Women, let me first introduce reality into this discussion. In...
Obviously you don't get my point. They were non-violent resisters. They were...
PRESIDENT CLINTON was guilty of the SAME KIND OF CRIME. An older man in a...
Ah, The Religion of Peace! :-)



You can be the first to comment on this story.