It's Jay's birthday this week, and all he wants is to be left alone. Naturally, though, this becomes impossible.

Cameron needs him to pick up a cake; Claire and Mitchell need him to rescue them from a dog who forces them to hide out in the treehouse of their former home (where they had gone to recreate a childhood photo as a gift to their dad).

While all this is happening, Phil is trying to impress a college rival by pretending that Gloria is wife. But the rival says he's surprised because he always thought Phil would marry Claire Pritchett, who the guy thought was simply awesome. Phil, therefore, realizes how lucky he is to actually be married to Claire.

Manny, meanwhile, feels pressure to impress a crush, one who plays softball and forces Manny to act as if he's some kind of jock.

Luke, Haley and Alex work on a video for Jay's present, but it doesn't turn out very well.

When the family finally has dinner in honor of the occasion, Manny comes through with the best gift of all: a boat in the middle of a pool that is meant to recreate Jay's childhood fishing experience. Jay ends the season with a nice monologue about loving his family and Mitchell and Cam come to an agreement: they want to adopt a son.