eduJournal theme header

I’m working with the edujournal theme and would like to change the look of the header section. So far I figured out how to change the images in the rotating banner. Now I’d like to simplify the whole top of the page so that I have the rotating banner at the top (I’ll include the title of the blog in the banner itself), then have nav tabs below the banner flush left, and the search box flush right. I’ve been trying to tweak this theme , but can’t figure out exactly how to do the above. Can anyone give me some suggestions?
The blog (under construction) is https://www.theamazingagingmind.com
Thanks
Marty
Ah. Also, how do I make part of a code inactive without removing it from the page? (in case I want to put it back in later)