The Best Episodes Written By Cindy Chupack

Sam has snack and Max thinks about things.

Claire prepares for her debate with Duane Bailey. Mitch and Cam try to clean up Lily's language before her turn as a flower girl. Jay blames Stella's strange behavior on Gloria.

When Ally has to do a school project on genealogy and interview her oldest living relative, Ray helps her track down Frank's long-lost Aunt Sarina, who lives in Italy. But apparently the unmarried Sarina has taken "stop by if you're ever in America" a little too literally and shows up at the front door. Her American family instantly adores her for her way with pizza and old-world charm. Ray, as always, thinks it's too good to be true and he's right.

After Frank has one accident too many, Debra decides that the kids can’t ride with him anymore, which makes Raymond realize that his dad is getting older. Not only did Frank back into Robert’s patrol car, but further investigation reveals that his driver’s license is expired! Uncomfortable with the fact the he’s not a safe driver anymore, Debra decides she doesn’t want the kids in his car. But the most uncomfortable part for Ray is thinking about the fact that his parents are really getting older — and unsafe driving is only the beginning of the journey.

When the family travels to Disneyland, Phil struggles to keep up with Luke, Claire is shocked when they run into Dylan, Jay and Gloria disagree about what are sensible shoes for the day, and Mitch and Cam must contain Lily's new affinity for running.

Ray, feeling guilty about only getting his dad a card for his 65th birthday, makes up for it by buying him a fancy and expensive aquarium just like the one he always admired in the Chinese restaurant. At first Frank adores the gift, but after one of the fish dies, he starts to hate it. Ray thinks it must be because the fish's demise reminded his dad of his own mortality - until he finds out the real reason and learns an important lesson about father-son relationships.

The Pritchett clan decide to celebrate Christmas a little early (and in a hurry) so they split up to gather the holiday trappings as Mitchell, Alex and Lily hunt for a tree, Gloria and Luke fetch the ornaments, and Claire and Haley shop for the gifts. Meanwhile, Phil and Manny buy the groceries and Jay and Cameron stand by to wrap presents.

When six-foot-tall Raymond discovers that he's shrunk a quarter of an inch, the resultant midlife crisis grows until it stretches into "an end-of-life crisis." So, before he gets put six feet under, he decides to make a list of his dreams and goals in life. But when Debra finds him writing his "Things To Do Before I Die" list, she decides to show her husband the proper way to have his crisis. Meanwhile, Marie gets mad at Frank when she discovers that he sold half of their burial plot for a profit.

When Ray and Debra realize they're nicer to strangers than to each other they vow to change their ways.

When Amy raises the notion that Robert's reluctance to commit to Amy may be a result of his being gay, Ray doesn't believe it. But, after further thought and closer observation of Robert's keen sense of style and panache for interior design, Ray is not so sure anymore.

Debra and Ray feel tremendous pressure to show each other a good time on a romantic weekend getaway in Vermont. From the moment they set foot in the quaint bed and breakfast, it’s apparent that Debra and Ray are trying a bit too hard for this to be a perfect weekend. Debra agrees to a tour of the Ben and Jerry ice cream factory while Ray suggests they check out a local antique fair. Meanwhile, Marie spies on Robert, who is left to babysit for the kids.

Robert evisages his 'Funspace', pitching it to Nick and also engages a well meaning, but ineffective, lawyer. Frances gets the keys to her new gallery, meets some interesting artists and also 'lawyers up', potentially at least, much more effectively. However, Robert somewhat upgrades his hire...