The Wrigleys' annual trip to the Hoover Dam turns into a competition with another family. Don, who wants to keep his title as "King Of The Road", tries to beat them there, but his efforts are threatened by frequent bathroom breaks and lack of family spirit.
When their school marching band is invited to the Regional Championship Ellen is picked to be the dot in the "i" of "Squid." Big Pete takes it upon himself to free the band and Ellen from Mr. Markle's "full frontal mind meld." Meanwhile, Little Pete is stuck on an endless tour of Bus Driver Stu's shattered romance with Sally Knorp.
Believing that his early bedtime has resulted in countless hours of lost fun, Little Pete defies the International Adult Conspiracy by attempting to stay up 11 days in a row.
Big Pete signs up for shop class thinking he'll breeze through it, but the teacher, Mr. Slurm, has it in for him and chooses him to build a "special project." Meanwhile, Little Pete sells insurance cards to other students.
When their grandfather visits them with his most prized possession - Dad's supposedly lucky bowling ball - the Petes dispute who should rightfully inherit it.
Little Pete controls underground radio station WART along with Artie. Little Pete then decides to start his own band. However, the neighbors aren't too tickled about the racket every day and night as they rehearse.
Big Pete accidentally kills the school mascot, the Squid, and only the Petes and Ellen know. But when a hooligan named Open Face wants dirt on Big Pete, he gets cozy with Ellen hoping to extract the vital info.
As summer ends, the Petes and Ellen try to befriend Mr. Tastee the ice-cream man, but they soon learn that being an ice-cream man is supposed to be a lonely job.
Little Pete and his father unite to beat a neighborhood nemesis in a race between a station wagon and a remote-controlled toy car after a 16-year-old feud.
On New Year's Eve night Little Pete looks back on his failed attempt at a resolution to change the world. As he sees it the only thing he needed was the Riley Retro-Fire Jetpack to fix countless problems worldwide. With the failures of seasons past he becomes more and more desperate for the $456.98 needed to buy the jet-pack. In this episode Little Pete enlists the help of Big Pete, Artie, and even Frank the crossing guard.