I'd love to hear any pool updates as well. And I'd LOVE to get a pool for our backyard. We don't have a nice, cleared, level space either. Lots of hills & a huge slope. My dream is to put in an in-ground pool in about 3 years, after I get some other loans paid off. I'm not allowed to talk about pools in front of my husband anymore.
When I was growing up, we had an above ground pool, with an expandable liner. Not sure if they still make those anymore. Our pool had the bands underground to help keep the sides up, so we couldn't take full advantage of the stretch part of it, but we had a really deep spot on the one end. To be honest, the shallow part of the pool always got more use, because it's just super hard to play water volleyball in the deep end. Eventually, the walls just gave (this pool had been bought used, and we'd used it for 15+ years). We came home from school & there was water EVERYWHERE.
I'd recommend a pool sweeper, eventually. Those save SO much time. We didn't have one, but they've so improved through the years, and the cost is well worth it.