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.
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.
"You don't want them to look back and think they've missed something," the first lady said, describing how juggling the schedules of her six children in her new role is the biggest adjustment she's had to make.
Mary Anne said the move has "taught all of us to be more independent."
The Huntsmans said they never considered moving into the mansion until after the election. The first lady tells the story of how she and her husband, then governor-elect, stood in the historic building and decided they should at least try to live there as a family.
"We thought, 'What an incredible house,' " she said. "We wanted to go in with both feet, all the way."
It had been a while since a family actually occupied the mansion.
Gov. Mike Leavitt and his family moved out after a devastating fire in 1993 and never returned, allowing their children to grow up largely out of the spotlight. Leavitt's successor, Gov. Olene Walker, and her husband moved in, but their children were grown.
The Huntsmans had intended to spend weekends together in their own home, located in nearby Federal Heights, but now plan to put it on the market. They've settled into the mansion, moving family treasures like Mary Anne's grand piano there.
"Your home is where your family is," the first lady said. "We're here."
Of course, living in a building owned by the state and open to visitors has its moments.
The older Huntsman daughters have stories about being spotted in pajamas or skimpy workout gear when they thought they were out of the public eye. Visitors to the mansion like to wander, though, and sometimes peek into the family's private quarters.
And the older daughters have already discovered that bringing a date back to the mansion means the governor's protection detail likely will witness any good-night kisses — if their dates weren't already scared away by the security.
They're somewhat used to being on display, however, having followed their father to Singapore where he served as the U.S. ambassador. That job also provided an official residence for the family.
The governor said after six months, his children are getting more comfortable living in the mansion. Some days, though, he hears complaints — "Dad, it's a bummer to have you as governor and get blamed for everything."
But on the other hand, Huntsman said, "they get to see so much of the goodness of this state and experience events that they otherwise would never experience. Some of them aren't old enough yet to comprehend that."
He said he knows firsthand some of the difficulties of being the son of a prominent father. Huntsman's father, Jon Huntsman Sr., is a self-made billionaire who is known for his philanthropy.
"I'm noticing that they all want their independence and their privacy, too," the governor said. "They want to have their own lives, and I respect that. It's got to be tough for kids to be the son or the daughter of the governor. I feel that. I've been the son of somebody."
E-MAIL: lisa@desnews.com