The blocking for the top and bottom of the windows was a piece of pressure treated 2x6 leftover from the porch handrail framing so it should be good...
As for the bars...They put a prison in about 2 miles from me about 15 years ago...They're right...the guys are locked up and don't cause any problems...but some of the trash they bring with them does...

The mason came Friday and installed the brick at the front elevations between the doors and at both ends...

I'm still working on the basement...since the space is kind of tight I decided to install some overhead "racking" to have a place to store extra long construction items...siding...soffit...trim and the like...