Won the Lottery!

Really, Lauren won the lottery!  It was a school lottery, to go to a charter school that is much better than our local school.  The school selection process around here is crazy.  I have to take it to a "for dummies" level to even understand it myself.  So here's a timeline of some of the events (I'm condensing and making it sound easy-easy, not nail-bitingly frustating as it actually was!):

DECEMBER:
-Realize we should really think about kindergarden for next year
-Accidentally miss the deadline to apply for UCLA Lab School but think it's for the best because last year we wasted money applying to Pre-K and didn't get in
-Realize our local school is not so great, but we are so close we can walk to 2 great schools we'll not have a shot of getting into unless we lie about our address or move
-Go on a few tours of some schools we *could* apply to

-Make friends with an in-the-know neighbor, mom of a 5 year old who tells us our home school principal does not release students to permit out to other schools and tells us some other options
-Get a CHOICES brochure and apply to one magnet (they only let you do one) out of vaguely remembering people saying to do it to "accrue points"
-Tour some Santa Monica schools since Ryan works there, realize that even if we get in, we have to reapply each year and their policies could change each year so Lauren wouldn't be guaranteed future years at the same school.

-JANUARY: Start to panic somewhat, hire LA School Scout to tell us our options
-Apply to 11 schools per her list, 1 private very close by and 10 charter or public schools that take permits.  Half of them I never heard of before.
-Wait and wait


APRIL/MAY:
-Attend lottery drawings (Okay, Ryan did this part!  Okay, Ryan did most of this whole process, have to give credit where credit is due!)
-Panic a bit more when Lauren's name is drawn at #340, #218, etc.  (Most schools take 20 students or less and get hundreds of applicants)
-Lauren draws #19 at our top choice school, but we have to wait to see how many spaces they will have

JUNE:
-Tour the private school, pay the application fee, and talk to the director at length.  Really like it but would rather save the tuition money and go to public school if possible.
-Make the mistake of taking Lauren to the private school to visit.  She falls in love and then...
-Lauren is offered a space at our top choice charter school!
-We enroll her!

Funny enough, a week after that, we got an email from another of our schools informing us that they opened up another K class and now have room for Lauren there if she wants to go.  We are happy with the one where we've enrolled her, though.

I have not seen Waiting for Superman yet, but I almost feel I could make my own similar movie!  But AHHHH, we're DONE!  At least until Middle School...