this one was tres stupid, so this will be short.
elyse and steven want to go camping; mallory, alex and jennifer do not (because they are not fools). elyse and steven take andy and head off to go camping. the older, wiser children stupidly reminisce about past camping times, including steven's racist indian moon dance, and decide to leave in the middle of the night and go after them. also, nick is there.
the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere (middle of nowhere ohio = everywhere ohio) and the kids have to camp right by the side of the road. they wake up when they hear a car coming and it's their parents. the parents missed them and decided to come back home. truly, they are the gift of the magi.
basically, the episode was a giant waste of time for both the characters and me.