Whip. Mix. Blend.

Summary
When Rattles's mom starts dating Archie Vanderloo, Rattles finds himself spending lots of time with Archie's kids. The problem is, Rattles doesn't have anything in common with these twins! Can this blended family learn to get along?

Plot
The Tough Customers want Rattles to join them at a protest against the opening of a 2nd Chickin Lickin' restaurant, but Rattles can't, as he has to spend the day with the Vanderloos. They're family friends & though he likes them, he's worried as he doesn't know how to fit in with the Vanderloo twins. The male twin, Ansel, is extremely active & into all sorts of activities like mountain climbing, while the female twin, Angie, speaks in weird slang that only she can understand. His friends agree to help him & by the time of the trip, he feels reasonably comfortable that he can keep up, but worn out from everything that he's done to prepare. Thus, when his mother tells him she has something important to tell him before they go on the trip, he tells her to tell him later. When he & his Mom arrive at the Vanderloos, he's eager to get things moving & once again tells his Mom to leave her big news for later. He climbs a mountain with the twins, but things go wrong when the slang dictionary his friends made him gets lost, along with the special trail mix designed to help him keep up. Despite this, he manages to get along, but is once again worn out at the end of the day. It's only then, as he's about to go to bed, that he finds out from the twins that they're going to be family - his mother is planning to marry Archie Vanderloo! He rushes to talk to her, & she explains that she had been trying to tell him, but he kept putting her off. Rattles isn't exactly upset the news, as he likes the Vanderloos, but he's worried that he'll just never fit in. His mother tells him that he doesn't have to, & that it's best if he just stays himself. The next day, the Vanderloo twins join the Tough Customers in protesting the opening of the chicken restaurant.

Major characters

 * Rattles
 * Archie Vanderloo (doesn't speak)
 * Angie Vanderloo
 * Ansel Vanderloo
 * Rattles's mother

Minor characters

 * Arthur Read
 * Jane Read
 * David Read
 * Kate Read
 * Mrs. Radley
 * Unknown Male Adult Aardvark
 * Slink
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Shelley "Binky" Barnes
 * Teenage Male Cat
 * Peter

Background characters

 * Pal
 * D.W. Read
 * Thora Read
 * Dave
 * Buster Baxter
 * Prunella Deegan
 * Alex
 * Edwin
 * Lucy's mother
 * Ballerina (Muffy Goes Metropolitan)
 * Unknown Female Adult Rabbit (Number 5)
 * Alberto Molina
 * Chip Crosswire
 * Sean
 * Catherine Frensky
 * Debi
 * Tami
 * Teenage boy
 * James MacDonald
 * Bud Compson
 * Tommy Tibble
 * Timmy Tibble

Trivia

 * This is the first appearance of Rattles's mother since "Thanks a Lot, Binky".
 * This is the first appearance of Grandpa Dave, though pictured, in flash animation (except from the theme tune).
 * Although Binky says "Tough Customers", in the closed captions he says "Tough Consumers".

Episode connections

 * Buster's mother had started dating again from "Bitzi's Beau" to "Bitzi's Break-up".

Production notes

 * This episode was released on the DVD Arthur's Fountain Abbey before it premiered on TV.

Errors

 * At one point, when Rattles is running up the mountain, his shoes turn red.

Home video
DVD:
 * Arthur's Fountain Abbey