Taking down the 15 yr. old deck

So a recent RM in our ward did our aeration this year and while he was here I mentioned we were planning to do some things in the backyard, including taking down the deck. He was eager to say he would do it and Peter had already made it clear he wanted to hire it out. I asked him to call me later with a bid.
He called back with a ridiculously low bid.
"Mark," I said, "let me tell you a secret to owning your own business. You actually have to charge people for your work."
I told him he was probably underestimating how much work this was going to be and he agreed. So I made him a more realistic offer and he took it down and hauled it away in truckloads within the week.
Ahhh...the energy of the young.

These posts were cemented feet into the ground. He brought over his ATV to pull them but when that didn't work he just manhandled them out. The deck must have been original to the house because when he removed it there was no siding where it had been attached to the house. Weird.

I can't believe how much bigger the backyard looks. It was a huge deck!
Of course it began raining as soon as he was finished and our dog made a holy mess in the house while the kids and I were in California. Now there is a sheer drop out the backdoor. Peter and I have agreed it is where we will lead the persistent salesmen that come to our door all summer.
"Just step through this door..."

When Mark asked me what our plan was now I told him we hadn't gotten that far. We just knew we were just ready for that deck to go and want something level with the ground for privacy.
He says he'd do work on that and I told him he'd probably be getting a call.