Heaven I know how you feel. My best friends growing up were actually my 2nd cousins. I was older than them but not by much, and they lived 6hrs away as well. So every holidays we'd either go to the farm or they'd come to town and stay with us. They even came down once when it wasn't school hols and spent a few days attending a "city school" as opposed to their rural school.

My mum had a falling out with their dad and that was basically the end of that. I have been back to the farm 3 times since then, with the last 2 times just as a passing through type thing. I haven't seen my cousins since I was 16, and we all have kids of our own now as well. I was friends with one of the boy's wives on Facebook, but she dumped me after a couple of months.

My mum's actual brother married into a religion, so they have never had anything to do us kids. Their choice. So I have 5 girl cousins that I don't know anything about. I see them once in a blue moon, one is about to get married but we are not invited.

As for my nephews. My kids actual cousins. I have one in Sydney whom I have never met (my brothers choice), and the other 2 live 10 mins from me but I seem to only see them on Christmas Day for a fleeting 30 mins. One of them turned 16 just two days ago and the other is nearly 14 so there is a fair age gap between them and my kids anyway.