Hey all, I've been reading through the forums for quite a while now, and finally mustered the courage to post the debacle of a yard I have for your recommendations.

A little back story..... We bought the house in May and I haven't had any time to really focus on the yard. Outside of 2 feedings and a couple of failed attempts at weed control, I've done nothing but mow every 2 weeks, and water.

This year has been especially bad on the area I live in, compounded by the fact that my neighbor's version of lawn care involves me killing her yard to try and stave off the unbelievable infestation of weeds coming into mine from hers. Our ground is composed of limestone.... Yep, that's pretty much it, possibly 1 to 2 inches of "dirt" mixed mostly with rocks and some cheap sod placed right on top. I'm still baffled as to how they managed to put an irrigation system in the ground, as I bent a San Angelo bar prying out rocks just to plant the sappling in the back corner of the yard.

Ok back to my woes... Crabgrass has not only reared it's ugly head in my yard, but has taken over every square inch it could spread to. I've tried pulling it for days, and even resorted to individually dropping roundup on the center of the weed to try and kill it. It is all over the back yard, although the pictures don't clearly show it. It is most obvious in the front corner of my front yard, which I've never seen grass in. I believe there isn't enough dirt there for grass to grow properly, but I could be wrong.

Here is my plan, with limited knowledge and a VERY limited budget (read I'm going to college while my wife supports our 4 person household).

Step 1 - some sort of weed killer with crabgrass killer (the problem here is my neighbor downhill from me has St. Augustine).
Step 2 - Core aerate my yard thoroughly
Step 3 - Spread compost over the yard
Step 3 - water and hope like hell.

I am going to try and include as many pictures as possible for you to see what I'm talking about, but please feel free to ask for more specific shots on questionable areas.

The first picture is the type of Bermuda that was planted in the yard, so that you can (hopefully) identify what I'm working with here.

Biggest question I have is, If this was your yard, what would you do, and why?

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions and help, I'd like to have a great yard for next season.