Matt shocks his family when he reveals his secret--that he is very close friends with a teenage pregnant girl, Renee. Right away Matt tells them that he is not the father of her baby, but just trying to help her out. Meanwhile, Mary is keeping her new boyfriend a secret from Matt. Lucy gets a surprise with her secret crush on classmate Jimmy Moon. Also, Eric gets a surprise of his own when he discovers his shoes keep on disappearing while Matt's friend Renee finds some help from an unusual ally--Eric. Annie finally reveals the shocking truth to Matt about his grandmother.

Annie continues to suffer through her mother's recent diagnosis. Annie then decides to go to Arizona to visit her parents and see what is going on with them. Meanwhile, Eric volunteers for a charity work, but he's unable to do it at the last minute. Matt then volunteers to do it, but his dating habits get him into trouble with the organization he is doing charity for. Also, Mary decides to call it a quits with Jeff while Lucy has her first real date with her classmate Jimmy Moon. Lastly, when Annie returns home with her parents, they decide to stay with her and the rest of the family so that they could spend some more time with them--which unfortunately will be the last for Annie's mom, Jenny.

With Halloween just around the corner, Lucy attempts to learn the truth about "The Mutant" Mike--a mysterious recluse who's been accused of murder. Meanwhile, Simon prepares for the "Annual Pumpkin-Carving Contest" at the church and badly wants to be in first place. Mary schemes to have the house all to herself when tricking all of her friends and family as to where she is going to be. While the family prepares for the church's Annual Halloween Carnival chaired by Annie, Eric has a bad attitude toward the whole holiday and discovers the real reason behind his hatred of Halloween while remembering a dramatic experience he had as an 11-year-old boy.

After Mary unexpectedly un-invites her family to watch her play basketball at an important game, the Camdens begin to make other plans for themselves. Lucy is angry with Mary because she invited Ashley--a popular girl in Lucy's school, to her game. Simon, Ruthie, and Happy get lost in town while pretending to be spies and following their mailman all over town. Lucy was supposed to to be babysitting them, but was instead entertaining herself and Ashley by talking on the phone with her boyfriend Jimmy Moon. Eric is faced with counseling a young boy who is once again back on his drug habit that is affecting his family.

Simon rightly fears he'll catch roommate Ruthie's chicken-pox, but his enterprising hygienic measures fail to prevent contagion from her, or from Happy's fleas. When a robber carjacks them, Annie seems calm and hands their valuables, so Matt feels 'unmanly' and guilty. However, Anne breaks down at an identification lineup. Jimmy Moon stands against Lucy in the school elections, then turns to her parents for help. The church organist veers bizarrely from brilliance to disharmony.

Matt, Mary, and Lucy make plans to get away from the family for Thanksgiving, but when Eric's sister Julie comes to spend the holidays with them, plans are changed. After the family finds out about Julie's dangerous secret--her drinking problem--everyone decides it would be better to stay home. Eric decides to help his little sister overcome her problem at home rather than seek professional help--whether she wants it or not. Annie is not comfortable with the situation and is only concerned that the children stay safe after an unfortunate altercation between Julie and Simon.

Happy is about to have puppies, and Simon takes his 'paternal' role extremely seriously, scolding his heartlessly irresponsible elders who don't even bother to volunteer relevant information. equally well-meaning Matt is suckered into lies at home and even to ditch school to help lush crone Bing, who claims she dares not invoke professional help fearing to be dragged to a home. Handiman Steve Cunningham, who lost job and home due to the economic slump, refuses help even for his family, but accepts to help out Bing. Jimmy Moon prepared a birthday surprise for Lucy, helped by his friend Dwight Jefferson, but she turns down everything when denied hosting a party.

Mary tries to impress her basketball team by stealing a glass from their teen hangout "The Varsity", which is a school ritual. A misunderstanding occurs which winds up with Matt being arrested for stealing the glass. Lucy cheats on a school paper by taking one of Mary's old papers and putting her name on it. Ruthie asks Simon about help when she overhears her father talking about how it bothers him when people in America don't know the National Anthem.

While both couples, Annie and Eric, Patricia and Morgan Hamilton, spend a romantic Valentine's Day camping, Matt is left in charge of the rest of the family and allows chaos to rein in the Camden household. His preoccupation with his date and Mary's party allows the dog, Happy. to slip out of the house in search of her puppies. When a car hits Happy, the family holds a vigil, aided by a caring veterinarian. Simon blames Matt for the accident. Lucy is enjoying her first Valentine's Day with her boyfriend Jimmy Moon.

The school bully experiences a severe lapse in judgment when he tries to sexually harass Mary.

Simon is eager to resume the baseball season, but not to get the mandatory tetanus-shot, but also a master at scaring needle-phobic Matt who has to accompany him and could fake it. Jimmy Moon needs some tutoring, so Lucy gets Mary to do it, but son regrets it, fearing big sister is falling for her boy-friend. Eric wants the parish to hire fraud-convicted Ron Kramer, an organist to the choirmaster's taste. Lou Dalton's vestry considers that as imprudent as having no security system in church and recruits Annie to be treasurer and draft a budget before the matter is settled, even threatening to fire Eric.

A visit from Eric's parents, strict Marines colonel John and his equally military wife, strikes controlled terror among the grandkids, and even Jimmy Moon, who initially discarded Matt's accurate imitation of the usual boyfriend-grilling. They come to present George, the charming, manly boy they adopted from an orphanage. But Eric discovers detective Will Grayson, whose death was faked in a witness protection program, is back in Glenoak after the crime king's death in prison. He claims his son, none other than George, back, as remains his legal right. After a fugue attempt from George, a creative compromise is devised. Matt meanwhile discovers aunt Julie is on the verge of an alcohol relapse.

Wilson West tells Eric that Billy is his son, unplanned but not unwanted, whose teenage mother died giving birth to the angel, which his parents help him raise. Dating privileges are maintained 'for observation'. Michael Towner bravely owes up being the one who accidentally hit Mary when she dashed after Annie, who realizes she's the guilty one but only tells off Matt's overprotective vindictiveness. Sign language in a deaf-run restaurant helps Matt patch up with Heather. Jimmy Moon dumps Lucy on account of her endless hair wining. Charles Jackson nearly lost hope Annie would turn round and Ginger imposed 'a break', but both women come to their senses after some surprising 'counseling' and fibs. Mary is released home, but recovery up to basketball level is far from certain.

Eric and Annie selfishly expect the kids to start the school year on routine so they can enjoy a lazy day alone together, but ill-prepared means in trouble. Nazi-style principal Russell has plenty of collaborating staff to enforce draconian discipline for 'gang and drug offenses' according to absurd new rules none saw coming, such as Simon's cutlery earning a suspension for 'concealed weapons'. Only Mary is happy with an ex-Olympic new basketball coach Koper, who meanwhile terrorizes Matt because of the beeper his father forgot when he borrowed Matt's jacket. Simon's buddy system only helps against a potential bully. Lucy makes her own life hell while Mary rudely fails to work in new guy Marcus, a natural flirt. The whole school buzzes about Lucy's classmate Peter McKinley's apparent suicide attempt. In fact Eric, called in by the police, discovers it's a desperate cry for help after 13 years of deaf tyranny from his insensitive, clueless single mother.

Simon and Ruthie's hope to keep the pair of 'pet' lizards a classmate of her offered for free are frustrated. Jimmy Moon has dumped his girl, so Lucy hopes to get him back at last, but 'biker' Rod decides it's time to make his move too. Matt and Mary coach different suitors, while Simon takes betting scores. Eric's group session for couples who married the last year starts bored, but soon unleashes frustrations with all of them. He brings Annie along as 'good example', but her surprise-visiting pa's offer to have them buried alongside him causes frictions in their own marriage.

Matt is edgy, telling only his sibling he found an out of state summer job so he'll leave home in days, not months. Simon finds a brilliant trick to train happy for a TV pet food commercial, but there's a stage-fright complication. Mary rudely scolds Matt, unlike Wilson who leaves diplomatically, for getting physical at home, but her doctor notifies she's pregnant. Lucy cruelly keeps suitors Jimmy and Rod, who both chose Eric as career day model, dangling, but Wilson, who appreciates her help with Billie, arranges a date with Kenny, whom she may really want.

Matt worries now he's about to leave home, as self-absorbed, phone-glued Mary hasn't even got a clue what's happening with their younger siblings, nor is any use for either. Simon is heart-broken when Happy's original family head Jack Martin turns up and returns with a lawyer to claim the dog back. Eric considers his parents's surprise visit awkward and pointless as Matt won't be around to hold his valedictorian speech. The colonel however takes charge of an operation dog rescue inspired by Jimmy and Rod. Those two also undo Lucy's idiotic dumping of Kenny for being 'too perfect to be interested in her' and hold a remarkable church sermon. Matt changes his plans after a call from the colonel, learning about it and Annie's confession that Mary's pregnancy diagnosis got mixed up with her real one.

Hoping to make the school baseball team but fearing nepotism from the coach, Simon asks sports star Mary to put in a good word--and gets stuck being equipment manager; Jimmy Moon's parents consult Eric when he gets involved in drug dealing, and Lucy's unwanted meddling gets her arrested; Ruthie deliberately doesn't pass on phone messages just for sibling attention; Eric suspects a church conspiracy.

Eric threatens Robbie with eviction because he thinks he's keeping secrets about Mary. The house is abuzz with secrets and preparations for an elaborate surprise party for Eric's birthday. Johnny drops Mercy on the Camdens' doorstep after Frankie abandons them. Mike trusts Lucy enough to look after his mother for a day, during which the woman surprises her, both by speaking and by what she says.

Everyone but Lucy is stuck home celebrating the twins' birthday on Valentine's Day; Lucy and Jeremy keep running into Lucy's ex-boyfriend.

Annie attends one of Eric's counseling sessions; Lucy and Kevin's different views on the judicial system become apparent when Lucy tries to avoid jury duty.