MODERN FAMILY: Leap Day Recap

Leap day is a big deal in the Dunphy house. Phil believes everyone should do something amazing during the extra day you get every four years. So, the Dunphy family and Manny are going to take a trapeze class. What a day of family fun they will have. Then Phil sees Claire crying on the couch looking at TV and he checks his calendar. Uh oh, it looks like it’s “that time of the month” for Claire. Then Hailey is freaking out on the phone, and Alex is pouring orange juice in her cereal! Could it be? All the Dunphy women have their cycle at the same time! AAAHHH! Not on Leap Day! Phil refers to the ladies as “Satan’s Trifecta” and realizes his beloved leap day might not be so great this year.

Phil, Luke and Manny still want to enjoy their leap day so they plot to take the trapeze class without the menstruating women. Their plan doesn’t go over so well, but Phil will not give up. He tells Luke to pour fake blood on his finger so they can fake a trip to the doctor’s office. Well Luke pours the fake blood all over his body. The girls take one look at Luke and they panic. Claire is aware of the fake blood and they are caught. The ladies know they were trying to ditch them, and they are offended.

Leap day is also Cam’s 10th birthday (actually it’s his 40th birthday but who’s counting). Mitchell has planned a big Wizard of Oz-themed party, since that is Cam’s favorite movie. There will be a yellow brick road, scarecrow, tin man, cowardly lion, a simulated tornado and even some ruby red slippers for Cam. It seems like the perfect idea until the morning of the party; Mitchell remembers that Cam’s family farm was recently destroyed by a tornado. He doesn’t want to be insensitive, so he decides to come up with a new plan and they only have two hours to do so.

Mitchell decides to celebrate Cam’s life voyage by having a party on a yacht. The entire family meets up at the dock where it smells horrible, and they find out that a whale has just died nearby (poor whale). Things get worse when the captain tells them there are too many people for the boat and they did the best they could with only 2 hours notice. Cam is disappointed that Mitchell tried to put his party together in 2 hours.

Phil, who is still in the dog house with the women, looks like he’s having a tough day. All he wanted to do was have somefamily fun at the carnival and take the trapeze class. When Cam breaks down about facing 40, Mitchell realizes that is the reason he’s been so emotional lately. All he really wanted was to be 10. So the family heads down to the carnival and have a great time. Phil just missed the cut off to do the trapeze, but Satan’s Trifecta won’t have it. Claire, Haley and Alex yell at the attendant until he agrees to make an exception for Phil (smart move by the attendant, I don’t think he wanted to mess with those ladies). Phil flies high on the trapeze and the family cheers him on. After all of the shenanigans, leap day turned out to be great. I can’t wait to see what they do in four years.

Modern Family airs Wednesday nights at 9/8c on ABC.