Rani

You did not mention what part of the country you're in. It might help.

However, I'd guess that your lawn has gone dormant. If you have bluegrass, it will come back as the temperature drops and moisture increases. I you have zoysia or a bent grass, you may not see much until spring, depending on your geographical location. If you can attach a few graphics, it may be easier to see the damage. It may be a lot of things, but without more to go on, I'm going to guess dormancy.

Mike

There are some basic rules for lawn care. These don't come from me. They are a compilation from reading here over the years.

2. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds.

3. Mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you're developing in 1 above.

4. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above.
   

These are a starting point. If you are at altitude in CO with thin air, low humidity, direct sunlight, and poor soil, then you might need to make some adjustments.

In order to answer your other questions, it would really help to know what kind of grass you have. I'd water it and see if anything comes back.

Take heart in knowing that you don't have to have crabgrass, ever. Following 1 and 2 above will eradicate it.

Do you have a lot of direct sunlight? lot of shade?
Are you willing to water weekly?
Are you willing to fertilize 3x per year?
Do you want a showcase lawn or is green good enough?
And where in CO do you live. Makes a huge difference in the mountain states.

I think David's advice is pretty good. Depending on soil and humidity, you may need to water twice a week, 1/2 inch each time (as he alluded).

The grass that is crispy may have died. KBG will go dormant, but there's a limit to how long it will stay dormant before it dies. Have you had any rain lately?

What's your elevation? What I really need to know is your expected first frost day. The reason is that if you're at a lower elevation, you may have time for a fall seeding, but if you get early frosts, you'd be better off waiting to see how it does and dormant seeding.

First of all, THANK YOU to the people who responded to my post, and sorry I didnt reply/follow up. I thought I was supposed to be receiveing email notifications when I got any posts, so here I was thinking no one answerd my plea for help :)

I am in Aurora, Colorado, and according to some websites I looked up, our average first frost day is Sep 20th.
Some people said the grass has just gone dormant, and I hope they're right, but there are bare patches on the ground...could the roots still be alive under those patches?

I am willing to fertilize/water/anything really, if it helps.
Should I reseed? Do dormant seeding? When and how are these things done?
Also, if I am reseeding, what type of grass do you recommend??

Front lawn: morning shade, afternoon sun, very light foot traffic.
Backyard: Morning sun, afternoon shade, and VERY HEAVY foot traffic (my three boys are outside playing tag/running etc every chance they get!)

I appreciate any help.

Also, what do I do about the evil weeds that have taken over my front lawn???

I don't see a lawn suffering from just 10 days of non-watering. Surely the roots have sufficient moisture to be able to stand up to that interval of time.
The lawn may well be in a dormant stage--when lawns are deprived of moisture, they can go into a state of rest and it should come back when cooler temperatures and moisture is given.

Its September now and the time to re-seed is about now...but I'd suggest you wait until that cool weather stays for awhile, then reseed and spread a 1/2" of topsoil or compost over the lawn.
Some people put a starter fertilizer down with the seed and I don't know how you feel about that. Maybe the compost will do just as well.

Me, I don't trust sprinklers. They are timed to give water to lawns at a pre schedule and whether it rains or not, it waters the lawn--maybe too much.
Too much water is as bad as too little--it can cause short roots which, when the hot temperatures show up, it can dry out and burn the lawn.
I know people in Florida cant be without their sprinklers but since they receive hot weather most of the time I think they have a better reason to trust them.

With an expected first frost of 9/20, it's too late to do a fall seeding. The rule of thumb on that is to seed 6 weeks before the first frost so the grass has a chance to get roots deep enough to survive any frost heaves.

10 days without water shouldn't really kill the lawn, but since you also said you had neglected it before hen, it may have been stressed already.

Another question that comes to mind is whether you've tested your irrigation system (I'm assuming a permanent in-ground system here). A lot of people tend to take a "set it and forget it" approach to them, but sometimes a head will get damaged and need replacing. It's a good idea to test the system once a month or so. Turn each station on and check to see if each head is popping up and spraying where it should.

If I were you, I think I'd do a dormant seeding. Are you looking for a traditional lawn or something a little less traditional that will use a lot less water? I'm going to assume a traditional lawn, since that's what most people want. For Colorado, your best bet will be Kentucky bluegrass (not that Kentucky 31 sounds like it might be kentucky bluegrass but is actually an unimproved tall fescue variety; it's hardy, but it has wide leaves and clumps, so it stands out in the lawn). KBG needs a lot of sun, but at higher elevations, it does well in more shade than it would in the rest of the country because the sun that hits is more intense.

Get the best quality seed you can. Preferably, something with 0% weed and crop seed. You probably won't find that at a big box store. Check a nursery or online.

To dormant seed, wait until it's too cold for the grass to germinate and spread the seed. I like to do it just before the first good snow. In the spring, it will germinate with the water from the snow melt and any random spring showers you may get.

You've got time to deal with the weeds now. I usually prefer to spot spray weeds with something containing 2,4D. If they're everywhere, a mass spraying approach may be appropriate this one time.