• After spending the afternoon competing in about six inches of mud, Tanner Brundage, 15, takes a hose to clean off the tack on his 12-year old horse, Cochise. His friend and neighbor Macy Randolph, 13, patiently waits for her turn, as her earlier attempts to gain control of the hose led to Tanner dousing her with water. While high school rodeo is not an organized team sport, many of the teens in the Jefferson City area practice together.
• The Fremont Fair parade, 2011
• From left, 2nd Lts. Elizabeth Zarogoza, Jonathan Yates, Mark Williams, Harrison Smith and Joshua Ray of the University of Missouri Army ROTC wait in line to receive their certificates during the joint service commissioning ceremony on Sunday, May 16, 2010 in Columbia, Mo. Zarogoza was the only woman in the Army ROTC graduating class of 11 students and one of seven female officers total taking their oath among the entire ROTC class of 40 at the ceremony.
• Children climb through a wire mesh tunnel connecting portions of the City Museum's outdoor jungle gym, MonstroCity, on January 23, 2010 in St. Louis, Mo. The museum was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in May for its many run-ins with personal injury lawsuits. $1 out of the $12 admission price to the museum goes to pay for their $600,000 insurance policy.
• Marine Sgt. Paul Curtman speaks to the crowd at a rally sponsored by the Macon County Patriots, a group that aligns with the tea party political movement, on April 27, 2010 in Macon, Mo. The rally was held at Leo O'Laughlin Inc., a trucking and concrete compant, to protest President Barack Obama's visit the next day to the POET Biodiesel ethanol plant, also in Macon.
• Spectators watch pre-Independence Day fireworks on July 3, 2010 in St. Louis, Mo.
• Preferring to be called by her 'burner' name, "Comfrey" painted herself blue from head to toe and adorned her body with a wild array of stars and celestial images in homage to the universe for the final burn on May 1 at the 2010 Interfuse festival. The four-day event hosted by the Midwest Burners in Booneville, Mo. is built on the ideals of the original Burning Man festival - self-expression, gift economy and 'leave no trace' camping - and features the burning of an effigy on the last evening.
• Bobby Holt, 2, holds up his corn dog while his brother Owen, 4, inspects his own kids meal box on July 23, 2010 at the Boone County Fair. Owen had been to the fair once before, his mother said, but this was Bobby's first time.
• Senate candidates Roy Blunt, left, and Robin Carnahan, right, go head to head on the issue of earmarks during the debate sponsored by the Missouri Press Association on October 15, 2010 at the Lake of the Ozarks. Carnahan gave her time during a rebuttal to her opponent for him to answer her probes about his voting record and experience with earmarks in Washington.
• Mavis Coffman, 13, of the St. Louis Gateway Synchro team, has her makeup fixed during a short break at the Show-Me State Games synchronized swimming competition on July 25, 2010. Coffman just started synchronized swimming in October and performed in both the duet and team events. "I always look for a sport that I'm good at," she said, "and this one is my favorite."
• A group of high schoolers dressed in their future college attire gathered on the beach at Alki in West Seattle to celebrate the end of the school year on June 9, 2011.
• A mother and her two children watch the salmon swim by at the Ballard Locks on June 24, 2011 in Seattle, Wa. The boat locks, still active daily, include a salmon run ladder with a viewing area and educational center explaining the life cycle of the salmon below.
• Pokey LaFarge performed a Tiny Desk Concert on April 18, 2011 at NPR headquarters.
• Kim English of Missouri attempts to regain control of the ball from Kansas State's Chris Merriewether during MU's 74-68 win on Saturday, January 8, 2010.
• Catcher Parker Costello (left) of the Boone County Bad Boys reacts after a series of errors made by his teammates on one at-bat during the Show-Me State Games on July 16, 2010 in Columbia, Mo. The AA-ranked Bad boys lost 13-0 to the Rolla Redbirds, ranked in the more competitive AAA-class.
• Missouri House 21st district candidate Kelly Schultz leaves a voicemail conceding to her opponent, John Cauthorn, and wishing him well in Jefferson City at the end of the election night watch party held at the Pizza Hut in Mexico, Mo on November 2, 2010.
• Two children play along a wall during an Americans for Prosperity rally held on April 28, 2010 at the O'Laughlin concrete plant in Macon, Mo. The rally was held in protest of President Barack Obama's planned visit to the POET ethanol plant across town the next day.