As Ray escorts Ally to a father-daughter dance, he realizes how grown up and independent his daughter has become. As a result, he begins to recall the day, nine years ago, when the Barone clan welcomed her into the family, but not without incident.

When Ray and Debra find Frank painting their house, they find out that Marie put him up to the job due to his retirement. But, when Frank paints it the color they don't like, Ray fires him. That's when Marie reveals the truth behind Frank's retirement.

Debra gets upset when she finds out that her parents have separated.

When Ray realizes that his kids would rather spend time with their Uncle Robert than with him, he decides to do something about the situation. When Robert makes the observation that, as a parent, Ray finds it boring to be around his kids, Debra couldn't agree more. She then suggests ...

Marie gathers Robert's ex-girlfriends, Amy and Stefania, and his police partner, Judy, together so they can dissect his character in an effort to help her better understand why her eldest son can't commit to a relationship.

Debra becomes angry when Ray contributes $1,000, without first consulting her, to his friends' harebrained scheme to open a go-cart business.

Tempers flare when Marie accuses Debra of not returning a borrowed canister that holds sentimental value, while Debra insists that she has already given it back. Debra is then horrified to discover that she does still have the canister in her possession, and with Ray and Robert's reluctant assistance, concocts ...

Ray purchases a new state-of-the-art vacuum cleaner from an attractive door to door saleswoman, and it ignites a housekeeping war between Marie and Debra.

Robert gets a surprise visit from Stefania, the woman with whom he fell head-over-heels in love when the Barones vacationed in Italy. Robert's excitement over having his beloved, and stunningly gorgeous, Stefania so close quickly gives way to annoyance when he is witness to a few of her idiosyncrasies. Meanwhile, ...

Ray is upset when he finds out that Debra signed up Michael and Geoffrey to play fairies in a school play.