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. In the flashback, expectant parents Ray and Debra are caught by surprise when Debra goes into labor in the back seat of Robert's patrol car, forcing him to be called into action. Meanwhile, Ray and Debra plot to keep a pushy Marie away from the delivery room until after the baby is born, not an easy feat.

When Debra tells Ray that he's too selfish in bed and that she wants a little variety he goes out and buys an adults only board game to spice things up.

Frank is so green with envy that he forces Marco to choose either Marie or him as a friend. Meanwhile, Ray sides with Frank because he doesn't approve of a married woman (especially his mother) having a male friend.

When Marie receives a letter from a relative detailing how wonderful her life is and how well her kids are doing, it drives Marie insane with jealousy. She enlists Debra's help in writing a Barone ""family update,"" but despite efforts to make everyone sound successful, the letter makes them all feel inadequate about what they have done – or not done.

When Debra grudgingly agrees to let Ray be more involved in daily decision making, Ray starts grocery shopping for things that he likes, and Debra lets him choose where the family will go for their next vacation. However, these newfound powers quickly become Ray's undoing.

When Debra stumbles across a cassette tape that contains a message from Ray's college girlfriend, she wants to know why he has saved it all of these years. So Ray retaliates by asking Debra to divulge any gifts that she's kept from her former boyfriends – but he's in for quite a shock when he sees the quantity of gifts still in her possession.

Armed with research and much preparation, Ray is ready to speak with Ally about the facts of life only to find that Ally's interest has changed from where babies come from to the meaning of life. Totally unprepared for this line of questioning, a baffled Ray gets unsolicited advice from his family on how to answer.

Debra decides to run for school president but Ray isn't sure he can handle the twins by himself during all those meetings so he votes against her. She loses and finds out that he voted against her so they get into an argument but her mouth is quickly shut when she reveals that she denied knowing him because he was embarrassing her.

Ray moves his things out of his bathroom and into the kids' bathroom so Debra has more space, but he soon regrets it when his dad and Robert start teasing him and tell him that he is no longer the king of his own house, Debra is.

Ray and Debra are excited to have finally met a couple, Neil and Lauren, who are just like them. However, Ray starts having mixed feelings when their annoying 8 year-old son, Spencer, wreaks havoc around the Barone household.

Boisterous Frank learns a difficult lesson in humility from his granddaughter, Ally. During a trip to the supermarket with Ray and Ally, Frank starts nibbling on some trail mix, completely ignoring the nearby ""no sampling"" sign. He's soon confronted by a testy manager, and a heated argument ensues. Watching it all unfold is Ally, who becomes frightened by Frank's ranting. When the trio returns home, Ray speaks to his father about his behavior. While Ray's comments initially fall on deaf ears, Frank later realizes he needs to talk to Ally... but now he's scared because he's never had a real conversation with her.

Raymond's friend Andy tells him that Jerry Musso, a radio talk show host, hates him. While Raymond is in shock over this, Robert enjoys seeing him fall over like this and they fight.

Tired of being labeled the ""evil witch"" around the house, Debra convinces Ray that it's his turn to discipline the kids. While leaving to take Ally to a Frontier Girls meeting, Debra tells Ray that he must force the twins to clean up their room or they can't go out and play. Reluctant at first to spoil their fun, Raymond starts to tire of their devilish antics and winds up going overboard with the boys' punishment. Meanwhile, Frank proclaims himself a model disciplinarian, only to learn that despite his scare tactics, Ray and Robert broke plenty of rules around the house.

Ray reluctantly agrees to do some charity work at a hospital after Debra signs him up, but he soon becomes a hit with the patients and starts spending more time there than at home, much to his wife's dismay.

Amy's mom and dad finally meet the Barone Family. Amy's folks show up unexpectedly at their daughter's house on a Sunday morning. They want to talk Amy out of marrying Robert and take her home to Pennsylvania with them. First, they are stunned to see Robert there. Then Frank and Marie arrive. It doesn't take long for the two sets of parents to disliking each other.

Yet another bump appears on the rocky road to Robert and Amy's wedding, which was nearly blocked by her disapproving parents. When the bride-to-be (Monica Horan) puts her betrothed (Brad Garrett) in charge of writing the wedding invitation, he seeks input from Ray and Frank. While they can't believe Robert let himself get roped into such a chore, they nevertheless come up with a plan: If Robert makes a mess of the job, it will convince Amy that she should take care of all the wedding plans herself. So the groom drafts an appalling mock invite---complete with the wrong date and names---and waits for Amy's reply...which is worse than he ever expected.

Debra gives a bridal shower for Amy, but her good intentions get sidetracked by Marie's overzealous participation. When Marie attempts to ""take over"" Amy's wedding shower, Debra gets upset and yells at her, prompting Marie to leave in a huff. Returning to the party festivities, Debra starts drinking a little too much champagne and winds up being too tipsy to drive. When she can't reach Ray on the phone, Debra decides to take a nap in her car with the keys in the ignition and is awakened by a police officer, who arrests her for drunk driving. When her license is suspended, Debra finds herself in a precarious situation when she's forced to rely on Marie for help.

Robert and Amy exchange vows in a classic Barone family wedding ceremony.

Robert and Amy exchange vows in a classic Barone family wedding ceremony.

After Debra's mother suggests throwing Debra an ""old-fashioned English Tea Party,"" Ray reluctantly agrees after she promises to do all the work. When Debra realizes Ray is planning something for her birthday, she suggests he change the theme to a Chinese banquet. Unfortunately, Lois has already started planning the tea party and now Ray must find a way to convince her to change her plans.

After inadvertently leaving the twins home alone, Ray and Debra are impressed with Ally when she steps up and takes care of the twins until they return. Ally asks if she can baby-sit more often, and, in yet another attempt to rid her house of Marie, Debra consents. However, Marie believes Debra is turning her daughter into a slave when she gives Ally additional responsibilities, including cooking and laundry chores.

Fed up with his wife's constant lateness, Ray leaves Debra at home rather than take her to the ESPY Awards. While Debra seethes over Ray's actions, Marie and Amy get into a heated debate with Frank and Robert when they air their own grievances about their wives' blatant disregard for the time.