As divorce proceedings draw near, Anne (Wendy Phillips) accepts a date with a co-worker; Lindley and Jim scrutinize candidates for a full-time baby sitter; and Joe (Richard Kiley) loses a valued employee.
Sunny (Amanda Peterson) is embarrassed about her lack of experience with boys; Joe (Richard Kiley) and a neighbor have an unneighborly exchange over the Gardners' dog; and Jack awaits news from the Seattle police academy.
A baby-naming ceremony for Ruthie causes dissension; Lindley seems overwhelmed by the commitment to Judaism; a fishing trip causes friction between Jack and David; and Sam is in Kay's doghouse after inviting his father to dinner.
Joe (Richard Kiley) assembles his family after proposing to Alice (Diana Muldaur); a nervous Anne teaches Sunny to drive; Kay is pressured into taking her co-worker's advice before meeting a potential buyer.
Anne's college boy friend reenters her life; guilt takes its toll on working mother Lindley (Jayne Atkinson); and Sam asks for Joe's assistance in a scheme to help Kay "sell" herself in her real-estate job.
Jim's flimflam artist father visits, bringing back feelings of embarrassment and resentment for Jim; David is humiliated by a school bully; and Jack paints a house for a bickering couple.
Joe believes David's social-studies teacher has gone overboard to instill a fear of nuclear disaster; Sam sees Kay's visiting mother as an aging hippie and fears Kay could follow in her footsteps; and Lindley invents an infant walker.
Tempers flare during tryouts for a football team that Jack is coaching; a lonely Anne gives in to temptation on a business trip; and Joe's apprehension stems from his popularity with a ladies' garden club.
Lindley and Jim's efforts to market the baby walker meet with stumbling blocks; Joe is protective of David after a vagrant attacks the boy; Kay feels remorseful after selling a dilapidated home; Sam tires of constant surprises.
A visit to a turkey farm turns Sunny into a vegetarian; a rainstorm traps Anne and Sam in Spokane; a blackout forces the Gardners to improvise on the cooking of the Thanksgiving bird; Jack spends an empty holiday with a new friend.
Sunny's behavior around the house annoys Joe, while Billy Putzi becomes a disruptive force in the Eisenberg home; and Kay's classes begin to dominate her life, much to Sam's dismay.
Marketing plans for Jim and Lindley's baby walker take a new turn, with the help of Billy; Anne fails to give up smoking; Sam considers cheating on Kay.
Jack may have discovered "the real thing" when he and his wife receive $1000 in prize money; Joe longs to mend his relationship with Alice; David admires a fellow worker at the bowling alley.
Sunny realizes too late the consequences of her actions when she asks a friend to flirt with David; Joe's erratic behavior has the kids worried, but he thinks the truth would leave them more troubled.
David tries to be civil around his visiting father; Anne reflects on the bitterness of her first divorce; Joe attends an old Navy buddy's funeral; and Kay serves as a juror.
A strike breaks out at Joe's ailing plastics plant; David's school play causes stress for Anne and David; and Kay gets her hopes up over the perfect house, assuming Joe will co-sign.
A friend's death causes Jim to worry about his own mortality; a fallen chandelier prompts Joe and Anne to redecorate; and an old flame appears at Jack's high-school reunion.
Anne risks being fired when she stands her ground before an important ad presentation; Joe's quick thinking in an emergency brings fleeting fame; Lindley can't forgive Jim for an accident involving Ruthie.
Sunny accepts a date with a boy, unaware of the effect it has on his former girlfriend; Joe's plans for a nostalgic journey are derailed on a train trip to Chicago; and Jim decides to build a new TV stand.
A journey to visit her ailing mother is a painful one for Alice; Anne refuses to celebrate her thirty-something birthday; Kay learns she's pregnant; and a sick baby wearies Lindley.
