Two summers ago I was in a very abusive relationship. The guy that I was with really really really wanted two turtles so, I bought them for him. He loved to play with them while I was left to care for them. I purchased Harriette and Jimmy as brother and sister from a little mom and pop pet store in town for $30 a peice and started with them in a 10 gallon tank. They were the size of quarters and this was before I learned anything about turtles. Needless to say the relationship ended and with the end of the relationship somehow he ended up with my "kids". At this point they were 5 months old. This past October the ex moved and left the turtles in the "care" of one of his friends who was one of my ex-best friends. Lord only knows how the ex treated them. Their new care giver took them every where, especially Jimmy, while Harriette was forgotten. She kept them in a tupper ware container.
I found out about this and tried to get them back but to no avail. One of my friends became friends with my ex friend who had my babies and would report to me on their care. The new care provider is a druggie so once again needless to say their care was minimal. I've heard counts of them being in voldka water, fed hot cheetos, been exposed to marijuana smoke, and the list goes on and on. Well one day, my friend gets the idea to talk to the ex's dad, as he is still living at his parents house about buying them. He wound up paying $70 to get Harriette back for me but when the dad went to get Jimmy he was supposedly lost. I still don't have my Jimbo and I never will. But I have my Harriette back. I was the only person that Jimmy never bit. He was fiesty. Well, when I got Harriette back she had hot cheetos on her shell so I'm really not doubting anything that was reported back to me about them. I got my sweetie back in March and she's been happy and healthy ever since. 
My ownly known flaw is that her tank is too small. It breaks my heart and I hate it but living in a second story apartment there's not much I can do about it. I weighed my options and I could have left her to die due to improper husbandry and complete inadequate space or I could save her, revamp her health and give her a larger but not ideal tank (a 20 gallon long). You know what I did. I do try and make up for it though. I have a large kiddy pool that I fill with water on sunny days that she gets to swim in and have fun. I have a temp gun to help monitor the temps so she doesn't get too hot or too cold. I try to be a good mom for my 'kids'.
There are some creative ways to try to maximize her living space without having to spend a ton of money or take up too much room. That's great that you have that kiddie pool for her. The other thing is to let her crawl around the room with you there to keep an eye on her so she can get some exercise and explore. Some RES seem to enjoy this while others get totally freaked out by it. Usually they are a little shy at first but after a few brief introductions to the living room floor they begin to get curious. You could also look into a 50gal rubbermaid container which several people here have used to make some nice setups with.
I know bigger is better. I'll try letting her run around the living room. There's not a whole lot she can get into or lost behind so that's good. She is a little skittish being out of her tank, even when we clean it but she's getting used to it. As far as getting Jimmy back, I'd love to but I don't even know if he's alive. The people who had him last moved to another town and I don't know where they live. They also had a 5 ft iguana in a 55 gallon tank. 
I've also found that it's hard to have a higher basking spot so that she can have more swimming room because she can get out. I've thought about a screen but being that the UVB is only a 5.0, I'm worried that a screen would block too much UVB. The rocks are loose but they don't move unless I take them out. They're wedged in there pretty well. She doesn't mess with the big rocks. I'll get a pic of the whole tank. 