We really wanted a bright, clean aesthetic, and a highly functional, organized design. To achieve this, we first laid this durable, grey garage mat, since our floors were in pretty rough shape. This alone made a huge difference! It was heavy and super cumbersome, but once we got it in place, it was pretty simple to cut the edges to fit our garage.

Then we purchased, built, and installed these cabinets to store our tools, outdoor gear, etc. We purposefully chose a white + grey color scheme to keep it as bright and airy as possible, and added several recessed lights for additional lighting. Being able to store the majority of our tools and things in the cabinets was a total game changer in terms of having a clean aesthetic, and keeping things organized/easily accessible. We also got almost everything off the floor and onto the walls to maximize space and make cleaning easier. We love how our bike rack allows you to pivot the bikes to hug the wall, really maximizing space for your car and still gives you quick + easy access when you want to go for a bike ride! We also bought some garage hooks to mount our car bike rack to the wall. Since ladders take up the most space and are a low frequency use item, we purchased this pulley system for one of our ladders. We absolutely love how functional it is (it’s so easy to get it up or down!) and how it utilizes our ceiling space!Finally, we got a gear track organization system for hanging all of our gardening tools.We then tucked our other ladder in this corner here, which coordinates perfectly with our other tools. Now that everything has a place in our garage, we’re hopeful that we can one day soon get things really organized inside our home too!

Sources: Garage Mat | Cabinets | Snowboard Rack | Ladder Pulley | Bike Rack | Gear Track System | Garage Hooks | Ladder & Cart Hook

One of our adventure days in Jackson Hole between our ski days included a snowmobile tour of Yellowstone National Park! I couldn’t help but praise God with tears in my eyes and thank Him for this amazing world that He created. I’ll never forget the beautiful snow covered trees, waterfalls, geysers, and wildlife we saw that day and hope you enjoy some highlights from our tour that day!

Tip: Put hand warmers in your gloves and toe warmers in your boots for a more comfortable experience!We were so excited to see the buffalo pictured above that Jordan turned to look at me with a big smile and nearly crashed our snowmobile into the tour guide right in front of us. Thankfully Jordan reacted with a quick, impressive swerve when he saw my panic-stricken eyes and heard me scream! Later in the afternoon though, Jordan still managed to crash us into a bed of (thankfully very fluffy) snow while taking a left turn too quickly. Nobody was hurt, but we were deemed “the trouble makers” for the rest of the trip. (Even though it was really just Jordan…) Our final day and grand finale of the trip was dog sledding!! It was a full day and we mushed all the way out to Granite Hot Springs, where we soaked in the warm water and ate a delicious meal prepared by our wonderful guides. Our favorite dog was Diablo, the strongest & fastest racing dog that was part of our team! It started blizzarding on our way back, but it made the whole bucket list experience even more magical!

Tip: Bring hand warmers, toe warmers, and ski goggles in addition to all your other cold weather gear for the most comfortable experience! If you’ve ever wanted to plan a winter wonderland vacation, we can’t recommend Jackson Hole enough!! If you’ve been to Jackson Hole, is there anything we missed? Have you ever been to any other magical winter destinations that you loved? We’d love to hear!

We first went to the island of Kauai (which ended up being our favorite) and stayed at the Aston Islander on the Beach. We enjoyed our stay here, and while the accommodations weren’t anything fancy, we prioritized going on more adventures/excursions than staying at a really nice resort for this particular trip, since it was already quite pricey! The central location turned out to be absolutely perfect, and we loved having so many delicious places to eat at nearby! (Our favorite place to eat was the Kilauea Fish Market. We probably ate there 5 times!)Day 1: We were up early due to the time change and after eating some delicious coconut pancakes at Kountry Kitchen, we biked the Kauai Path with complimentary bike rentals from our hotel. It was a beautiful, paved path along the beach and we enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say this was a must-do activity if you are only going for a few days. Afterwards, we drove north to see the beautiful Kilauea Lighthouse (above) and then went to find Queen’s Bath (below), which ended up being our favorite activity of the day! We jumped in from the higher rocks on the right and just loved swimming and marveling at such a beautiful, naturally created pool! An absolute must-do in our opinion!

Tip: Wear water shoes with great tread for the hike down to Queen’s Bath and to walk across the hot lava rocks! I wore these and absolutely loved them! Super comfortable straight out of the box, perfect for all our hikes, and I got tons of compliments on them. As a bonus, the brown color I got was perfect for blending in with the red clay/dirt in Kauai that is notorious for dying your clothes/shoes!Next we checked out the view from the Princeville Resort (below), the nicest resort on the island, before heading up farther north to snorkel off of Tunnels Beach.

Tip: We brought our own snorkel gear and would highly recommend it since there are so many wonderful places to snorkel right off the beach! Day 2: We splurged and went on a helicopter tour of the island, since we heard it was a must-do! There were definitely amazing views to be seen, but it was a bit cloudy/windy/rainy for parts of our tour and I definitely felt a lot of motion sickness.

Tip: I would tell everyone wanting to go on a helicopter tour to take some dramamine! It will go a long way in helping you enjoy the whole tour! Next we went to see the iconic Wailua Falls! (below) This was really easy to get to and definitely worth seeing!Afterwards, we went to hike the Sleeping Giant Trail. It was super steep, and parts of the trail were unmarked and confusing, but we finally figured it out and made it all the way to the top! (below) A great, satisfying hike, but we wouldn’t say it’s a must-do.We rewarded ourselves with a shave ice from Ono Ono Shave Ice, and it was heavenly! They had the best price and gave you a very generous amount! I had the Hawaiian Delight flavor (banana, pineapple, coconut) with vanilla ice cream in the middle and it was the best!

Tip: Do not be alarmed by the roosters and chickens that are literally everywhere.

Day 3: We drove to the western part of the island to see the Waimea Canyon and hike the Awa’awapuhi Trail! The Awa’awapuhi Trail was a tough hike with mostly trees until the very end of the trail when it opened up into the most epic views of the Kalalau Valley & Na Pali Coast that makes it totally worth it. We daringly went out to the edge via a sketchy path with steep drops on either side of it. Lots of signs telling you to only go past at your own peril, but we very carefully did it. Beyond that point, the path gets even more narrow, so I carefully inched a bit further on all fours and then sat (below) to take in more of the views. Below is the view from where I am sitting! Eep! But also, amazing! Definitely a must-do!Day 4: We went tubing down the old sugar cane canals! This was actually a pretty family-friendly activity in our opinion, but still a lot of fun! We relaxed for the rest of the day to get ready for another big hike the following day.Day 5: We hiked the Kalalau Trail (!) and I was so excited to check this off the bucket list! It was probably the sketchiest, muddiest, wettest hike we’ve ever gone on due to the pouring rain that started halfway through our hike for approximately an hour, and people were sliding all around on the red mud because the trail is pretty rocky and steep. Due to the weather, we made it to Hanakapai’ai Beach (gorgeous!) but only went part of the way up towards the Falls and decided to turn back when we saw a man walking out with a broken arm! The trail itself even turned into a waterfall from the rain, but eventually the sun came out as it always does in Hawaii and the views were incredible and totally worth it!

Tip: Wear darker clothing if at all possible for this hike. You will get dirty from the red dirt/mud, and you will not believe the number of people we saw wearing (ruined) white sneakers and shirts!Day 6: We kayaked 18+ miles along the Na Pali Coast for “fun.” While the views were spectacular, they would have been just as spectacular from a boat with an engine! We both took Dramamine beforehand but Jordan still fought major sea sickness the entire time, and our arms felt like they were going to fall off by the end of the day after paddling for over 8 hours!! We’re proud to say we did it and the guides were amazing, but we would honestly not recommend ever booking this tour. (Especially not for the price!)

Tip: If you ever do decide to still do this because you think (like we did) you’re more athletic and fit than the people who wrote honest, negative reviews, we’d definitely recommend wearing SPF swim clothing + SPF hats. We both put on sunscreen beforehand and tried to cover ourselves from head to toe in SPF gear, but the only exposed parts of our bodies (the tops of our ears + ankles) were still severely burned!

“We need a vacation from our vacation.”

We’ve never been more happy to be on land!!!Day 7: After the exhausting day we had previously, we took it easy at Poipu Beach, and ate fish tacos + a Mai Tai at the Beach House Restaurant. We loved the open air breeze and views from this restaurant! Then we checked out the Spouting Horn and just relaxed for the rest of the day.Day 8: For our final day, we got up early to find the Secret Lava Pools at Secret Beach! This was the first time we had an entire beach to ourselves, and we loved feeling like we were the only ones on the island! Then we snorkeled at Ke’e Beach and checked off one more bucket list item – drinking fresh coconut water directly from a coconut (!) before island hopping to Maui!

Have you ever been to Kauai or are you planning a trip there soon? Would love to hear what you loved most and what your experience was like! Is there anything that we missed?

Aloha for now! Check back soon to see our adventures from Maui!