I think of projects in phases, and yours becomes a natural.

Excavate the soil at least 6 inches. Fill with 4 inches of crushed stone, then level with an inch of stone screenings atop. You now have an usable expanded patio. And, when you're ready for pavers, it will have settled for you to level again with sand and install the pavers.

Hope that helps.

Another idea: Do you have access to rivers or creeks in your area. My nephew made a pretty sidewalk out of flat rocks gathered from the river beds. He dug up the soil and embedded the rocks level (kind of like stepping stones close together, then sowed grass seed in the soil around the stones. It was level with surrounding lawn and he just ran the lawn mower over the walkway. It was very pretty and free!

Check your local CL for free/cheap landscaping materials.