Thanks for the update milkman. I'm glad you are starting to see some progress. I'm sure you're ready to go for a swim!
I sort of hate to mention this since it's still so early in the game... but that hill on the far side of your pool worries me. (seen on the right hand side of the top pic) It brings back a not so pleasant memory of something that happened to me about 15 years ago. We had an IG pool built at my former house with a small hill right behind it. The pool was finished in the fall and we were exhausted and ready for a break. We decided to put off finishing the landscaping until the weather got warmer. We didn't even give a thought to what would obviously happen if it came a good hard flooding rain, which it did. It took me a month to get that pool clear again. Sigh....
Is your PB going to knock the hill down or work out a foolproof drainage system?
I may be worried over nothing, it's just something to think about. Here in Alabama we get some unbelievable gullywashers.
By the way, I love those dark blue steps! It's going to look great!