rockm

I'd stop watering with distilled water. It can actually harm your trees. Distilled water is void of any minerals or other nutrient value. Tap water is fine.

Do not remove anything from the dormant maple--which should be outside for the remainder of its dormancy and for the rest of its life. Maples will not survive indoors. Also do no prune the maple now. Wait until late winter. Doing so now could result in dieback.

The pines you have are not pines., they just resemble pines. They are Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria), a tropical plant unrelated to pines. Araucaria will not respond like a pine to bonsai training. They make only marginal bonsai and are generally more trouble than they're worth to do so.