New to pools in general and have a lot to learn!

[tokmom]

Thanks so much for the tips!
I will look into the safety ladder for sure. I really like that idea! My youngest kids are 10 and 8, so not small kids, and there are no kids around us as we are rural, so no sneaking neighbor kids. We have a plan B, with a large piece of board covering the stairs that the kids won't be able to move. Hard to explain what I mean. I would prefer the ladder though.
Watermom, we do plan on building a half deck like your picture showed, but next year, due to cost. I can't wait to have something nice like that.

Sunlove, I didn't want grass next to the pool, due to upkeep, but was thinking of ferns as they are wild around our property. I guess roots are a no-no. Good thought.

Once I gain access to see pictures I will look at what others did. I tried but I was denied. lol.

[Watermom]

I know what you mean about a large board covering the stairs. When my kids were younger, we had a treehouse. You had to climb about 5 steps if I am remembering correctly to reach the little deck on the treehouse. We blocked the steps with a big piece of plywood or something to keep the little ones from climbing up.

[PoolDoc]

Once I gain access to see pictures I will look at what others did. I tried but I was denied. lol.

I just checked with my test user ID -- you pretty much have access to all the pictures that can be seen. Most of the pictures you can't see, were handled by the vBulletin (forum software used here) attachment system. Unfortunately, the attachment system tends to 'lose' pictures at each major update. That is the reason I've switched to using Picasa, via the PoolForum Gmail account.