After a long day of doing different types of odd jobs to raise money for their trip to the Yucatan, Milo, Martina, and Montserrat went to Aunt Ofelia's Valentine's Day party. Aunt Ofelia's party is a combination of Mardi Gras, and Valentine's Day, so she has her guests wear masks and or costumes. Milo has always wanted to be in a krewe, so this year he rented a huge moon head to wear. The twins are avid Star Wars fans, so they dressed like their favorite villains.
 
They are getting close to earning enough money for their trip to Yucatan. The twins's father got talked into taking Marcellus, Milo, the girls, and Aunt Ofelia to Mexico. Martina and Montserrat's mother refuses to go because she hates heat and mosquitos. Besides this, she becomes annoyed when the humidity musses up her hair.
For my amiga @juxtaposejane .

After deciding they would travel with Milo to the Yucatan Penninsula, Martina and Montserrat began to take advantage of every opportunity they had to earn money. At their Great Aunt Imogene's eightieth birthday party, they decided to sing some songs. Milo passed a hat around to collect money. Unfortunately, the girls, like their Aunt Ophelia, sang horribly out of tune. They made a lot of money that evening since people paid them to stop singing. Martina and Montserrat's mother wanted to die of embarrassment. Squeak and Squawk were no where to be seen, and Athena their black Lab howled. The trio did not care that no one liked the girls' singing. Fifty dollars went into the travel fund that night.

Upon hearing about Martina, MIlo, and Montserrat's plans for traveling to the Yucatan Penninsula, Milo's older brother Marcellus designed a Mayan sudoku puzzle for the trio. Fourteen year-old Marcellus, who is in the Ph.D physics program at MIT, is fascinated by Mayan culture and wants to travel to the Yucatan with the twins and his brother.