After another disappointing Mother's Day, Frankie and Sue leave for the rest of the day to visit Frankie's mom.

Mike and Frankie's plan for a simple Christmas are dashed when Frankie's parents show up and stay for 12 days, spoiling the children and never giving Mike a minute of freedom.

Frankie gets fed up with the kids and leaves to spend some time with her mom, leaving the kids with Mike to figure out what they did wrong and how they can change.

Frankie's parents, Pat and Tag, invite the Hecks to spend a few days at their house to celebrate Thanksgiving together. But the festivities begin to fall apart quickly when Frankie's sister, Janet, and her family also join in, and soon the siblings are at each other's throats over their widely differing parenting techniques. Meanwhile, Mike tries to offer some advice to Axl on how to pick up girls when he witnesses his son trying to impress a pretty mini-mart cashier - and fails miserably; Brick attempts to prove his innocence when he is accused by Janet of damaging her daughter's expensive toy; and Sue is stoked when Frankie, Pat and Janet invite her to take part in their gossip sessions.

Frankie's bickering parents come for Thanksgiving, along with two special guests. Axl's football comeback may be postponed by a broken heart, Sue's mascot head is stolen, and Brick is fascinated by a new book.

Frankie gets discouraged while looking for a new job as a dental assistant, Axl reaches his breaking point with Sue and Darrin, and Mike has a campout with Brick's new scout group.

It's Thanksgiving, and Axl looks for the right time to say he dropped three classes, Frankie's dad looks for the right time to say he gambled away their vacation money, and many surprise visitors arrive at the last minute.

Mike's incompetence threatens to ruin Frankie's Mother's Day. Mike tells Axl, Sue, and Brick to put some effort into a gift for Frankie. Frankie asks the kids how they would differ from her as parents.

At the annual homecoming tailgate, Frankie worries that her mother will ruin things, Sue takes a familiar role, Axl is sick as a dog, and Mike asks Brick to help him win the cornhole tournament.

Instead of having a traditional Mother's Day, Frankie encourages her family to "pay it forward" to another family member. Meanwhile, Frankie's mom still has hurt feelings with Mike over a dance at a wedding 20 years ago.

Pat has to stay at the Hecks House for a few days, while Axl and Brick ponder what it is exactly that Mike does at the quarry.