I gazed into the abyss... and the abyss wasn't that bad.  What am I talking about?  My biggest concern about moving to Texas was the heat.  We've had out first 100 degree heat wave, and it wasn't that bad.  I'm not saying standing out in the direct sunlight wasn't like sitting in an oven.  Just that it wasn't that bad.  The nice thing about Texas heat is that it's not as humid as Florida.  So comfort-wise, it's not nearly as bad as I thought.  Also, I have a few things that help me deal with the heat:

* My house is air conditioned, ldo.  But I'm generally home all day, it really doesn't matter if it gets to 120 degrees outside.  It's still 79 degrees in my house.  We used to set the thermostats to 76 degrees in CT, but I just figure acclimating ourselves to the warmer weather is best.

* Even when I go outside, I'm never standing outside for long periods of time.  It's usually just to get from my parking spot to the store or restaurant.  A nice blast of sun for a few minutes actually feels good.  I feel like yelling "BiiiirdMan!!!" every time I get out of the car.  (He got his powers from the sun)

* Most of my outdoor time is at the pool.  We usually try to use the pool in the morning where the water is like 78-80 degrees.  It's pretty refreshing.  The kids are used to getting up at 6:00-6:30 anyway (the school bus came at 7:10 - btw schools's out for summer! - later post) and it's not like anyone wants to play poker in the US mornings.  So when the markets are quiet, we all head over to the pool around 10:00.  The water is not nearly as refreshing in the late afternoon (like 85+ degrees).

* The only other time I go outside is when I have to grill, and that's under a large cabana.  It is surprising how much cooler it is in the shade than in direct sunlight.  The difference wasn't this noticeable in the NorthEast.   I'm guessing it has something to do with being further south, but I'm no scientist.

So the sun is perfectly manageable.  They say it gets to like 110 later in the summer, but I think it'll be okay.  What is just completely out of control are the friggin' hail storms.  We had a big storm last night, and my yard is a mess.  We also lost power for 10 hours (so we went to see a movie - so not so bad).  But seeing ice on your yard in the middle of a heat wave is pretty crazy.  I thought the first hailstorm was just a freak occurrence.  Apparently, it's a lot more common.